Days of Damnation
by In The Beginning
Summary: Health is not all it seems to be. Sickness is the supreme power of this world... and the shorter the life, the greater your happiness. Such is the logic... and damned be the one who tries to change that. [Complete]
1. Day of Preparation

(I'm still trying to figure out where the inspiration for THIS story came from. It's... really out there, even for me. It's like... got _me _thinking.

Perish the thought that I actually use my brain for something productive... XD

Okay, so. This is just the setup chapter... hm... finishing this story is going to be very interesting... do I smell a challenge?! I think I do!

Also... all references to God? I only use Christianity because like, 80 of America is Christian. Sorry!

Enough prattle; the story starts!

All the characters you recognize © Nintendo

All the other ones not from Trauma Center except for Dr. Stannis © Me

Dr. Stannis (c) TCGeek)

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Days of Damnation

Chapter One- Day of Preparation

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"It's so wonderful, to see so many of you, willing to sacrifice yourselves for the good of the people... I say to you, welcome- welcome to Medicine."

The speaker was a short, sickly man in his late twenties; he wasn't much older than the people he spoke to. He began to cough violently, his thin frame convulsing as he did so.

Nobody in the audience worried about him, and when he had recovered from his fit, he resumed talking as though nothing unusual had happened.

And indeed, nothing had.

"We are living in an age where health plagues our society, increasing the life expectancy and causing people to live long, meaningless lives," the speaker continued, his voice raspy. "We must eliminate this nuisance, for a short, fulfilling life is much better than a long, inane existence."

He paused to catch his breath; the pneumonia easily winded him.

"But you all know that; it is why you are all here. Here... and ready to sacrifice your happiness, so that others may live contently. You generous souls--"

Another coughing fit came over him; the audience waited patiently for him to recover.

"...your kindness will not go unnoticed. You will give up your sickness for others... you will all become the Damned, but because of your sacrifice... imagine how great your reward will be at the end of your lives! Truly, you will be blessed..."

A roar of applause filled the auditorium; the speaker smiled weakly, ready to collapse where he stood.

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"Hey, Derek... do you have any idea who your host is?"

"No, I don't. What about you, Tyler?"

The auditorium had been evacuated; the mass of young people had congregated in smaller groups outside, meeting, talking with their friends.

One such group was comprised of five people, just barely in their twenties- and one, not even past nineteen yet; a tall, brunette man, a blonde man and woman, a lady with shoulder-length green hair, and a gaunt man with stringy black hair.

"Nope," the blonde man, Tyler, sighed, shaking his head. "Do you think we'll have the same host?"

"Be realistic, you idiot," the black-haired youth scoffed, his dark eyes scornful. "Do you really think that they would put five people who all know each other with one host? The odds of that happening are less than impossible. You might as well try telling people that health is a good thing."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic, Victor," the blonde woman scoffed. Even though she was the youngest of the group at a mere seventeen, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. "It's possible that, even if we don't get the same host, we could be placed within the same family. We could still see each other again."

"Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen, Angie."

"Oh, be nice, Victor," the green-haired woman scolded gently. "It almost sounds like you don't want to see us again."

"Because he probably doesn't, Leslie," Derek laughed, his brown hair falling into his eyes. "You're breaking our poor hearts, Victor. I thought we were friends."

"Hmph. Well, we'll find out if we're together soon, won't we?"

"We will?" Tyler asked.

"...ugh... you idiot," Victor muttered. "In a few minutes, somebody's going to approach that podium over there-" -he pointed to the area in question- "-and they're going to say a host's name, and the names of the people that are going to stay with them. If your name doesn't get called for any of the hosts... they've decided that you're not cut out for the job. They send you home, and you can try again next year."

"How do you know all this, Victor?" Angie asked, her green eyes inquisitive.

"I used to have a neighbor who tried to get in. He died from the flu about three months after he came back home--"

The five friends quickly murmured a prayer, thanking their Lord that the man had gone quickly and young, as was intended.

"...but before he died, he told me how the system worked," Victor continued explaining. "There were about fifty hosts when my neighbor tried, and apparently each host is responsible for two to five of us."

"...I know that we have to live longer than the normal people; but I wonder, when do we get to die?" Leslie murmured.

"Not sure," Victor shrugged.

"...I heard rumors of one of the Damned being older than sixty," Derek spoke softly.

"_Sixty?!_"

"Yeah... because of his health..."

A hushed silence fell over the small group. It was a sin to live beyond the age of forty... they began to wonder what they were really getting themselves into.

"Do you think we'll live that long...?" Angie murmured.

"Dunno," Tyler responded. "Derek just said it was a rumor, though--"

"And it's entirely possible," Victor argued. "The Damned are supposed to be healthy, so they can make sure that as many people as possible keep the sickness. Why do you think they're called the Damned?"

Silence fell over the whole crowd; Derek, Angie, Tyler, Leslie and Victor looked towards the podium to see a tall, spindly woman, her glasses too big for her thin, sallow face.

"Good afternoon," she spoke into the microphone, her voice weak. "We will call the name of the host, then the names of the people that will go with that person. Is that clear to everyone?"

A mumble of assent rippled through the crowd. The woman cleared her throat.

"These are the people who are going to be with Dr. Niles Stannis. Will you please come forward when your name is called... Tyler Chase."

"And so it begins," Victor muttered as Tyler made his way through the crowd.

"Shh!" Leslie hissed.

"Katherine Morrison. Travis Johnson. And finally, Deborah Gaugin."

Three other people amongst the hundreds made their way to the front of the crowd, leaving the area with a tall, healthy-looking man with tanned skin and light brown hair.

"This next group is going with Nurse Mary Fulton. Angela Thompson."

"Ah..." Angie sighed, carefully pushing her way through the crowd, leaving her friends. "Excuse me..."

"Eirika Grado. And... Jasmine Raye."

"There goes two..."

"Victor, stop being so pessimistic."

Several more hosts were called up, yet none of the three remaining friends were in any of their groups. They began to grow a bit nervous...

"The next two people are going to go with Dr. Greg Kasal. Kaleigh Layer and Derek Stiles."

"Congratulations, Derek," Leslie muttered as Derek left the group.

"Thanks, Leslie."

When Derek finally reached the front of the mob, he saw a man about his height, his dark hair brushed back, his pale skin radiating a healthy glow. A short, blonde, curly-haired girl was talking to him- Derek assumed that was Kaleigh- but the man approached Derek, leaving the girl to babble on by herself.

"Derek?"

His voice was deep and calm; his hazel eyes shined with life.

"Y-Yes... Dr. Kasal..."

Greg smiled as he extended a hand towards Derek.

"It's nice to meet you," Greg replied as Derek hesitantly took his hand and shook it.

"Yes... it's nice to meet you too."

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(End chapter one.

No real notes here... just, please, I don't want any "omg that could SO not happen..." because it could definitely happen... in an alternate universe.

Which is where this takes place.

Review please!)


	2. Settling In

(I am writing this at six in the morning... clearly, I am a sadomasochist.

But in other news! Lovely weather today, eh? Perfect for destroying sanity with.

I am so slowly losing my mind...

Alright, Kaleigh is going to be based on all the fucked-up bitches that went to middle school with me... you should be able to guess how much material I had to work with.

Characters © Nintendo

Kaleigh © Me)

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Days of Damnation

Chapter Two- Settling In

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"Oh my gosh, Dr. Kasal, you have _no_ idea how excited I am to be one of your residents-- this is so amazing!!"

"Well, I'm glad that you're so excited, Miss Layer. Are you also this happy to be able to help the rest of humanity as well?"

"Of course I am, Dr. Kasal!"

Greg was driving them back to his house, where Kaleigh and Derek would be living for the next five years. Kaleigh was sitting in the shotgun seat, chattering on and on about how excited she was to be with him; Derek, however, sat in the back, looking out the window, lost in thought.

His silence did not go unnoticed by Greg, who glanced at the young brunette through the rear-view mirror.

"What are you thinking about, Derek?"

Derek snapped back to reality. He quickly pressed his glasses all the way up against his face.

"Ah... nothing," he replied, his brown eyes focusing on the back of the seat in front of him. "It's just... I'm wondering how all of my friends are doing."

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine," Kaleigh spoke quickly, eager to resume talking. "So anyways, Dr. Kasal--"

"Hold on now, Miss Layer," Greg cut her off. "I had another question for Derek."

Kaleigh closed her mouth, sullen.

"What are your friends like, Derek?"

"...well, Tyler... Tyler's very easygoing," Derek began to explain. "He got put with Dr. Stannis. Angie, she's only seventeen, but... she's really freaking tough. I think her host is Nurse... Fulton?"

Greg smiled.

"Dr. Stannis is a good man," he spoke. "Your friend Tyler will be just fine. And as for Angie... you'll see her again soon; I work with Mary Fulton."

"Oh, really?" Derek asked, his brown eyes lighting up at the thought of being able to see Angie again. "That's good. ...but I still don't know what happened to Leslie and Victor..."

"I was the last one in my group of friends to be called," Kaleigh announced, "and I know what happened to all of _my_ friends. Most of them got put with Dr. Clarks--"

The chirping ring of a cell phone cut her off once again; Greg quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket, answering it.

"Hello, this is Dr. Kasal. ...well, if you don't want me answering the phone like you, maybe you should consider changing, Sidney. How are you? ...well, I could be better, I suppose. But I'm not complaining. So, who are you hosting this time?"

There was a brief pause, and then Greg laughed.

"Nice. Alright, I got to go. ...yeah, see you later, too. Bye."

He hung up.

"Who's Sidney?" Kaleigh immediately began. "Is she your girlfriend? It sounds like you're having problems--"

Greg nearly hit a parked car, he was laughing so hard. He quickly pulled over, trying to calm himself down.

"N-no," he gasped through his laughter. "S-Sidney's not my g-girlfriend... Sidney's my _twin brother_... oh, that- that was good, I'm going to remember that one forever..."

"O-oh..." Kaleigh muttered, her pale face flushing to a deep shade of red as Greg finally pulled back onto the road.

"Don't worry about it, Miss Layer. ...oh, Derek.. your friend... Victor, you said? Does he go ballistic when somebody says his last name wrong?"

"Yeah. He once knocked someone out when they said 'Nee-ghel' instead of 'Nye-ghel'," Derek nodded.

"Well then, looks like my brother better be careful how he says his last name," Greg chuckled. "He's hosting both of your other friends."

Derek's slightly solemn expression immediately brightened.

Knowing that he would be able to see his friends again just made his day.

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When they arrived at Greg's house, Kaleigh immediately claimed the guest room. Derek didn't care; he took the living room just to get her to _shut up_ about how she _deserved_ the guest room.

Later that night, Kaleigh was having yet another one-sided conversation(with Greg politely ignoring her as he watched television) as Derek sat on the living room floor, typing away on his laptop.

_**DStiles22 has logged in**_

_**Tohgo22 has logged in.**_

_DStiles22: hey, Tyler_

_Tohgo22: Yo, Derek._

_Tohgo22: So, who'd you get?_

_DStiles22: Me and Ms. Psycho-Bitch got Dr. Greg Kasal_

_Tohgo22: Aw man, don't be so hard on Angie..._

_DStiles22: Not Angie, you dope. Some other girl..._

_DStiles22: I swear to God, it's like she has an orgasm every time Dr. Kasal __breathes._

_Tohgo22: Oh, ouch... I feel sorry for you, man._

_Tohgo22: Ah crap- gtg. I'll ttyl, Derek_

_DStiles22: Alright. See you, Tyler._

_**Tohgo22 has logged out.**_

_**DStiles22 has logged out.**_

"Oh wow, it's really late, isn't it?" Kaleigh commented as she glanced at the clock on the wall. "I think I'll go to bed now... good night, Dr. Kasal. ...and good night to you, Derek."

"Good night," both men replied simultaneously as Kaleigh left for the guest bedroom.

Once she was gone, Greg heaved a long sigh.

"Lord, I'm going to need all the strength I can get," he muttered, running a hand through his dark brown hair.

"You should really talk to your girlfriend about this... she may be able to offer some advice," Derek suggested, a smile playing at his lips as he checked his email.

Greg laughed.

"Yes, maybe I should. ...you should get to bed soon, Derek. Tomorrow's going to be an early start."

"Alright, Dr. Kasal. I'm going to finish answering my emails and then I'll call it a night."

"...you're a good kid, Derek."

Derek looked up to see Greg standing up, smiling slightly at the young brunette.

"I can tell; you've got a kind heart and a good head on your shoulders. ...don't disappoint me, Derek."

"I won't, Dr. Kasal. I promise."

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(End chapter two.

Typed up in thirty minutes, not including proofreading time... not bad.

MoonCat, in answer to your comment before- as soon as they hit eighteen, the women are supposed to be getting pregnant to insure the survival of the species- and no more than two kids, to control the population.

How the hell we talked about this in biology, I will never know.

Please review!)


	3. Breaking In

(Ooh... I'm inspired to write, but it's all a bunch of "what" and not enough real substance...

Next chapter starts the beginning of super plot problems!

OR DOES IT?

It probably does.

I don't know! it's like my damn email thing, saying it's expunging deleted messages. WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL THAT MEANS. Who in the world says "expunging"? It's... okay, it's a cool word, I'll admit, but JEEZ.

Also, I say Derek flushes out the tubing with water... it should be saline. OH WELL.

ENOUGH RANT. CHAPTER.

Greg, Derek, Sidney, Victor © Nintendo

Kaleigh, Sophia © Me

The idea for Victor's screenname © Crazy Girl Person)

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Days of Damnation

Chapter Three- Breaking In

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"...and this is where we keep the people with exceptionally strong immunity. We're trying to find something that will infect them for more than four or five days..."

Greg was showing Kaleigh and Derek around Hope Hospital, where he worked. They stood outside the intensive care unit; Derek could see about five patients lying in beds when he looked through the glass window.

"Let's go in, shall we?"

Greg opened the door to the room; all open eyes turned towards the three people as they entered.

"Oh, Dr. Kasal... are these your new residents?"

A dark-haired woman of slightly larger stature looked up at Greg, sitting upright in the bed nearest the door.

"Yes, they are, Miss Sophia," Greg nodded, smiling. "They'll be taking care of you soon, so don't be giving them too hard of a time, alright? We don't want to scare them away on the first day."

"Of course, Dr. Kasal," Sophia smiled, her eyes lingering on Derek. The young brunette felt his skin flush; he had always gotten nervous when people stared at him.

"Alright, Derek, do you have the equipment for drawing blood?"

"Yes, Dr. Kasal."

"Then get over here-- don't be so nervous, she won't bite. You're just going to draw some blood. I'll tell you what to do."

Derek hesitantly approached Sophia. She smiled warmly, but her dark green eyes were cool, impassive.

"Alright, Derek... take the tourniquet and tie it around her upper arm."

That was quickly done.

"Now then, take the needle and insert it into the vein... carefully, Derek. Don't go all the way through the vein."

Derek slipped the needle carefully into the bulging vein in Sophia's arm.

"The vial attaches to the end of the tubing. Twist it on."

Red blood began to flow into the small vial.

"Good, Derek," Greg smiled. "Just take out the needle and disconnect the vial when it's full... come on, Miss Layer. I'll watch you draw blood from Mr. Nelson."

"Of course, Dr. Kasal!"

Derek carefully pulled the needle out of the vein once he had collected enough blood, disconnecting the tubing from the vial.

"Don't forget to flush out the tubing, Doctor," Sophia spoke suddenly.

"Pardon?"

Sophia pointed to the sink near the door.

"You need to flush it out, otherwise the other samples are going to be contaminated. The others won't be able to get out as soon as me if the results are inaccurate."

Derek went to the sink, holding the blood-filled tubing in his hand. He turned on the faucet, holding the end of the tubing underneath the running water.

Water flowed out through the needle.

"Good job, Derek," Greg complimented as he glanced up, hearing the sound of the running water. "I didn't even have to tell you to flush the tubing."

Derek blushed slightly. Sophia grinned.

--------

"Dr. Kasal... what are these blood samples for, anyways?"

Derek, Kaleigh and Greg were walking down one of the many hallways on the fourth floor.

"We send the samples to Caduceus, and tests are done to see what the immune system is weak against," Greg explained. "When they get a positive reaction to something, they send us the results, and we implant the disease. After a week, if the disease is still there, we send them off."

"Such a silly question, Derek," Kaleigh scoffed. "What did you think they did with them?"

"It's a perfectly valid question, Miss Layer," Greg spoke gently. "I asked the same thing when I was a resident."

"It's a fine question indeed, Dr. Kasal!"

Derek rolled his eyes at Kaleigh's appeasement tactics.

"Oh, wait, Dr. Kasal... what's that room?"

The blonde girl pointed to a door hidden away in the corner. There was no glass window that allowed people to look in.

Greg paused.

"That's... where our bugged patients go," he answered, his hazel eyes seeming troubled.

"Bugged patients?" Derek asked.

"Patients transferred here from our psychiatry division."

"Well, what's wrong with them? They're here to be treated, aren't they? Why can't you treat them, Dr. Kasal?" Kaleigh queried incessantly.

"Because... they don't want to be treated."

Kaleigh and Derek stared at Greg.

"They don't have the sickness..." Greg spoke softly. "...and they don't want it. They have health of the body... and the worst possible sickness of the mind."

"...that's horrible," Kaleigh frowned. "How could they deny the glorious fate that awaits them? It's disgusting."

"...yeah, it is," Greg agreed as the three continued walking.

Derek sensed hesitation in Greg's voice.

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_**DStiles22 has logged in.**_

_**Raisin has logged in.**_

_DStiles22: Your SN still cracks me up, Victor._

_Raisin: Fuck you, Derek._

_DStiles22: Please don't._

_DStiles22: Apparently our hosts are twins..._

_Raisin: Looks like Angie was right..._

_Raisin: For once._

_DStiles22: I don't even know why I talk to you..._

_Raisin: Because I saved your ass once in middle school?_

_DStiles22: Oh, right._

_DStiles22: Whatever. Say hi to Leslie for me._

_Raisin: Yeah, will do. Later, Derek._

_**DStiles22 has logged out.**_

_**Raisin has logged out.**_

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"Victor, did you do the tests you were supposed to before we left?"

Victor sighed, not moving from his sprawled position on the bed, not looking up from his book.

"Yes, Mr. Kasal. Mrs. Anderson's sample was highly susceptible to polio, and Mr. Nelson's to influenza... the other three were somewhat weak against pneumonia, but there aren't any guarantees with that."

Sidney Kasal sighed, fixing his glasses.

"I see. ...one more thing..."

"Yeah?"

"Drop the Mr. Kasal bullshit. Save it for my brother. It's either Chief or Sidney, take your pick."

Victor couldn't help but smirk.

Finally, someone who spoke his language.

"You got it, Chief."

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(End chapter three.

Now wasn't that a lovely, action-packed chapter. We got to see Sidney swear. All of our lives have been made more worthwhile from the experience.

I kid... perhaps.

Chapter four-up tomorrow? Yes, no, maybe so? God, I hope so. That would be amazing. Three chapters in two days for a story that doesn't follow the normal story guidelines here. WOO.

Too much caffeine; must go bounce off the walls now. Please review!)


	4. Tension

(I... I'm having a little problem.

By little, I mean... you know, only the size of a small baby pregnant whale.

I have all the way up to chapter nine planned(yay for you, you get a MANY-chaptered story from me!)... but... I don't know what to do after that.

And I know how I want to end this. No, I won't tell you, you'll have to find out for yourself. But... after chapter nine, it would have to be like a surgical James Bond story. I DON'T WANT A SURGICAL JAMES BOND STORY. James Bond is NOT a surgeon; and even though Greg is uber-awesome and absolutely gorgeous(/fangirling), he is not exactly ninja.

BLAH I'll solve all my problems eventually... hopefully... ha, Hope Hospital! The insanity begins!

Derek, Angie, Greg © Nintendo

Sophia, Kaleigh, Mr. Haydn © Me)

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Days of Damnation

Chapter Four- Tension

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Five months had passed since the residents had been paired with their hosts.

Derek had become quite adept at drawing blood, implanting disease, and consoling patients; Kaleigh was skilled at leaving bruises when she drew blood and being insensitive.

Greg constantly put her in charge of doing paperwork; she was very good at filling out forms.

Greg and Derek had just left the intensive care unit, done with drawing blood.

"Derek, did you see the results we got back for Miss Sophia?" Greg asked the young brunette.

"N-no, I didn't..." Derek admitted. "...why, did they find a disease that would stick?"

"Well... yes," Greg nodded slowly. "...it's going to have to be a cancer, however."

Derek's face fell.

Yes, cancer was a disease that they commonly used, and it could end the life quickly. But it was very painful... tumor transplants were only done when nothing else would work- a final act of desperation.

Derek hated doing tumor transplants... cancer had been the death of his father, when Derek was seven. He had never fully gotten over the slow, painful decay his father had gone through... instead of the quick death he should have been promised.

"Derek, you're going to be doing the transplant," Greg informed. "I know you don't like doing them, but after what happened last time... I'm hesitant to let Kaleigh do another. Besides, Miss Sophia requested that you be her surgeon."

"Alright, Dr. Kasal..."

Greg smiled briefly.

"I'll talk to Mary Fulton and try to get Angie to be your assistant. Alright?"

Derek's expression brightened.

"Thank you, Dr. Kasal."

--------

"Scalpel."

Angie handed Derek the scalpel, careful not to accidentally cut herself with the dirty blade. Derek made an incision along Sophia's abdomen, spreading the cut open to be able to see the abdominal cavity.

"We're putting it on the stomach, right?"

"That's correct, De-... Dr. Stiles. We're supposed to attach it to the outside of the organ."

"Alright... forceps; and let me see that tumor."

Angie passed Derek the forceps, and a small glass dish. The tumor sat in the center of the plate, oozing cytoplasm slowly. Derek carefully picked up the tumor with the forceps, placing it on the stomach wall.

"Stitches."

Derek strapped the tumor into place by making a small "net" with the suturing thread. Now it would be able to fuse to the stomach wall without falling off; the thread would be absorbed by the body in three weeks or so.

"I think we're done here," Angie commented. "Close the incision, Dr. Stiles."

He sutured the wound shut, then carefully applied a bandage over the stitches.

"Operation successful," Derek declared. "Let's get her out of here."

"Yes, Dr. Stiles."

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"Why didn't you let _me_ do the operation, Dr. Kasal?! I could have done it even better!"

Kaleigh had found out about the tumor transplant that Derek had done. Needless to say, she was less than pleased to hear that Derek had been chosen to do the operation instead of her.

"Kaleigh, Miss Sophia specifically requested that Derek be the one operating on her. You can't argue with the patient when they make a reasonable request--"

"But why wasn't I told about it?! I could have persuaded her to change her mind- hell, I could have even just scrubbed in!"

Derek watched, feigning disinterest, as Kaleigh argued vehemently with Greg. They were gathered in Greg's office... which wasn't nearly big enough for a fight.

"Miss Layer, you can perform the next operation... but you're getting far too excited about this--"

"_I_ wanted to be the one helping her!"

"It shouldn't matter who helps her... you should just be happy that she's ill again. But you are putting your desires before the care of the patients," Greg's voice lost its caring tone, becoming cold and harsh. "And if getting attention for your accomplishments is all you want, then you will never become a good doctor--"

His cell phone began to ring; Greg let out an exasperated sigh, pulling it out of his pocket and answering it.

"Dr. Kasal."

Derek could hear voices coming from the phone. Greg frowned.

"I'll be there in a minute."

He hung up.

"Derek, come with me."

"What, another emergency operation you're going to give him and not me?!" Kaleigh accused.

"Of course, Dr. Kasal," Derek quickly followed Greg out of the room, eager to get away from the hypersensitive woman.

Once they left the office...

"I'm going to have to transfer her," Greg muttered. "She's too much... she's not good for the job."

"...Dr. Kasal... where are we going?" Derek asked slowly.

Greg sighed.

"One of the bugged patients is acting up... I've been called down to play peace-keeper, and I will _not_ have you and Kaleigh alone in the same room. ...besides, this will be a good learning experience for you, Derek. You'll learn how to deal with people like them."

"Yes, Dr. Kasal."

--------

"Listen, Doctor, just let me go already. I need to see something- something besides these goddamn walls."

"Look, Mr. Haydn, there's nothing we can do... we're not allowed to release you until you've been cured--"

Greg spoke carefully to a tall, robust man with blonde hair, who stood in a defensive pose, glaring at the surgeon with intense brown eyes.

Derek couldn't help but notice that his eyes, along with the eyes of the other eleven patients, burned with life, with the intense desire to keep going...

"There's nothing wrong with me; of course, you don't believe that, do you?" the man sneered. "You want to go and keep getting everyone sick, just because it's what the system tells you to do. You don't even think for yourself, for what you really want, do you, 'Doctor Kasal'?"

"That's not true," Greg shook his head.

"Maybe I should just do away with you and your resident here..."

Derek suddenly felt fearful; his tone was serious, Derek could tell he would really do it...

"Mr. Haydn, be reasonable," Greg replied, his voice growing stern.

"Two less people spreading disease..."

"Sir--"

"Maybe then people would--"

"Mr. Haydn, would killing us really change the system that much?"

"It would be a start--"

"Would you really risk your life for something as inconsequential as trying to take ours?"

There was suddenly a tense silence...

"Dr. Kasal, what are--"

"Derek... step out of the room, please."

"But--"

"Now, Derek."

"...yes, Dr. Kasal."

Derek stepped out of the room, hesitant to leave...

He waited outside the door for about seven minutes before Greg finally exited the room. His hazel eyes seemed troubled.

"Dr. Kasal?"

"...come on, Derek. Let's go."

Derek and Greg began walking down the hall.

"...Dr. Kasal, why... why did you say that, about if taking our lives was worth losing his...?"

Greg tensed up slightly, trying to find the right words to say.

"...you need to be able to speak the language of who you're dealing with," he explained slowly. "...they want to live... so I had to remind them what they could lose if they acted rashly. ...never forget what was said today, Derek."

They walked down the hall in silence.

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(End chapter four.

Ending got kinda weird... whatever. It's a GOOD weird.

And on a side note, I am now sick. I think that is a sign. HA.

Next chapter... not much happens. But that's okay, because I say it is. Besides, not everything in life can be packed with drama... then we'd get bored of that.

Please review!)


	5. The Sinner

(Sleep deprivation isn't very good for the soul, but it's fun... especially when you're waiting for people to appear so you can go the hell to bed.

Masochistic much?

Not too much happens in this chapter... except that THE MAJOR PLOT SECRET IS REVEALED!

Psych. But Derek does meet someone who is somewhat important.

Enough of this; chapter!

Characters © Nintendo)

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Days of Damnation

Chapter Five- The Sinner

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_DStiles25 has logged in._

_PockyLuvr25 has logged in._

_DStiles25: Hey, Leslie_

_PockyLuvr25: Hi Derek!_

_PockyLuvr25: How are you 'n Angie?_

_DStiles25: We're doing alright_

_DStiles25: I'm still thankful that Kaleigh got tossed out of the program_

_PockyLuvr25: I can't believe she was that bad..._

_DStiles25: Les, it's been 2.5 years, and every morning, I can still hear her rambling to me about how Dr. Kasal's so great. You couldn't get her to shut up._

_PockyLuvr25: Oh..._

_PockyLuvr25: Ah- I have to go, Derek_

_DStiles25: Alright- see you later, Leslie._

_PockyLuvr25 has logged out._

_DStiles25 has logged out._

--------

"Dr. Stiles, what did my blood tests show?"

"So far, nothing conclusive... but there seems to be some promise with the TFTA influenza. We just need to do a few more tests to make sure."

"I hope you find something soon, Doctor... I can't take being here much longer."

"We're trying as hard as we can," Derek smiled briefly as he finished drawing blood. "We're going to get you out of here as quickly as possible, alright?"

"Thank you, Doctor."

Derek left the intensive care unit to be greeted by Angie.

"Hello, Derek."

"Oh, hey, Angie," Derek smiled. "Ah- before I forget... these blood samples need to get to Caduceus, will you drop them off for me, please?"

"Of course," Angie nodded, taking the vials of blood Derek had just drawn.

"Thanks, Angie... tell them all I said hello."

Angie left, her heels clicking against the cold tile floor.

Derek left to go see his first patient; a thirty-two-year-old man he had recently infected with pneumonia. Yesterday's examination had gone well; the patient's white blood cell count had gone up, and his cough had gotten a little weaker. If he continued at this rate, he would be discharged tomorrow.

Derek stepped into room 113.

"How are you feeling today, Mr. Toya?"

--------

"Derek, I dropped off the blood samples, and we have the results from yesterday's tests."

"What did the report say, Angie?"

"Mrs. Sullivan's sample tested positive against the TTA influenza, just as we thought, and Mr. Morrison's for tuberculosis."

"...hmph..." Derek frowned, thinking. "...let's wait and see if there's something else that tests positive... I'd like to avoid tuberculosis if possible. It takes too long to activate."

"Alright. Are you going to tell Dr. Kasal?"

"Yeah- I was just on my way to his office."

"Very well. I have to go finish my rounds- I'll see you later, Derek."

Angie walked off to go see her next patient. Derek headed for Greg's office, glancing at the files of the patients he had seen that morning, muttering to himself.

He almost walked right past the door to Greg's office; quickly, Derek stopped in front of the door, knocking on it before walking in.

"Dr. Kasal, I--"

Derek froze.

There was another man sitting in the office, talking to Greg... he looked up at Derek.

"Ah, Derek..." Greg spoke, smiling. "What great timing... I don't believe you've met Dr. Hoffman yet, have you?"

The visitor rose from his seat, approaching Derek; he towered over the young brunette, looking at him with silvery eyes, through bifocals. His hair was white; wrinkles had formed on his face, and it was evident that they had been there for a while.

_This man--_ Derek suddenly realized, _This man is The--_

"Dr. Hoffman was my host when I was going through my residency," Greg informed. "He's taught me pretty much everything I know. He's now... sixty-three, is it?"

"Sixty-five, actually," Dr. Hoffman spoke with a strong voice, a smile slowly forming on his face as he extended his hand towards Derek. "It's nice to meet you, Derek."

"I... it's nice... to meet you... too..." Derek replied, his voice faltering as he carefully took the broad hand presented to him, shaking it slowly.

Dr. Hoffman's grip was strong; Derek had never met a person over thirty-five with a handshake so firm. And Dr. Hoffman's eyes...

They burned with life.

"Anyways, Greg, that's all I wanted to talk to you about," Dr. Hoffman said to Greg, breaking off the handshake. "Make sure you keep that in mind."

"Yes, Dr. Hoffman."

He left the room. Derek stood, frozen with shock.

Greg laughed, snapping Derek out of his daze.

"That's the first time you've ever seen anyone over forty, isn't it?" Greg chuckled. "That surprises me- Dr. Hoffman's the director here, I would have thought you'd see him at least once..."

"Y-yeah..." Derek stammered briefly, fixing his glasses. "U-uh... I-I finished my rounds, Dr. Kasal. Mr. Toya's infection is still holding, but Ms. Young is regaining her health... we may need to operate again..."

Greg sighed, running a hand through his dark brown hair.

"Alright... thanks, Derek."

"Yes, Dr. Kasal."

--------

_AThompson20 has logged in._

_Raisin has logged in._

_AThompson20: omg hi Victor!_

_Raisin: Hi, Angie._

_AThompson20: How are you?_

_Raisin: Eh._

_AThompson20: so... nondescript._

_Raisin:)_

_AThompson20: I can't wait for the party in 2 wks, how about you and Leslie?_

_Raisin: I could never be more excited. (/sarcasm) Tell me how Derek's doing so I can tell Leslie and leave._

_AThompson20: Ugh, fine. Derek's been... kinda distracted lately._

_Raisin: Because he's finally using his brain. Whatever. I'll see you later._

_AThompson20: Fine. Good night, Captain Sarcastic._

_AThompson20 has logged out._

_Raisin has logged out._

--------

(End chapter five.

So tired... no notes here. Notes next chapter.

Please review!)


	6. Doubt

(This chapter is dedicated to three things/people/objects of this universe:

The first one is to TCGeek. If you've read her new story, you will see that this chapter is based rather heavily on the first chapter.

The second thing is a strange hybrid of Dr. Pepper and "Night Drive" by All-American Rejects. That is a combo that could potentially keep a person up past three in the morning. Try it sometime when cramming for a test or big project at work.

The third thing this is dedicated to is to Alexa and MoonCat. I've been receiving... less than thoughtful reviews recently. Their reviews came _just_ at the right time and said _just_ the right thing, and ensured that this chapter is out today instead of... oh, say next Tuesday(as if I could have waited that long.)

My dedications are done; it's time for chapter six, where not much and yet a whole lot happens!

Characters © Nintendo)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Six- Doubt

--------

"This is _absolutely ridiculous!_ How can you have a party with this much alcohol and _no strippers?_ That should be outlawed!"

"I don't know how it could happen, Tyler, but are you sure you want a bunch of strippers around when your girlfriend is in the same building?"

"...good point, Derek. She'd probably kill me."

"You bet!"

Derek laughed at Leslie's outburst as he and Tyler drank from their beer bottles, sitting on the couch in Sidney's living room. They watched Angie, Leslie, and Mary Fulton play video games(much to Derek and Tyler's surprise; they didn't think "Nurse Fulton" was a gamer), concentrating hard on trying to win the race.

"C'mon, Leslie, you can do it!"

"Go Angie! I know you can win!"

Greg walked in from the kitchen just in time to hear Tyler and Derek's cheering. He smiled, drinking from the beer bottle in his hand.

"C'mon, Mary; you have to represent us."

Mary Fulton suddenly moved into the lead.

"Whaaaat?!"

Mary grinned victoriously as she crossed the finish line. Angie and Leslie sulked, putting down their remote controllers. Greg chuckled.

"Why not take a break from the video games? The real party's in the kitchen right now."

"Alright..."

--------

"What about you, Victor?"

Uh... I... I'll call."

Victor threw two plastic chips into the pot.

"Niles, what about you?"

Niles Stannis glanced at his cards.

"I'll see that, and raise you five."

Seven chips were pushed into the center.

"I'm out." Victor folded.

"I'm out, too." Derek put down his cards.

"What about you, Sidney?"

Sidney bit his lip, thinking.

"...I'll see that," he muttered, throwing in his chips.

"And I will, too," Greg also put his chips into the center. "Let's see what we've got."

Sidney won, his straight flush beating Greg's three of a kind and Niles' full house. The younger Kasal twin grinned, collecting his chips.

"That's three times in a row, Chief," Victor glanced dubiously at his host. "It seems kinda suspicious to me..."

"Quiet, you."

Greg chuckled, standing up, taking his beverage with him.

"I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll try to get Mary to join you guys. See you later."

He left the table, stepping out of the room. A minute later, Mary Fulton walked in, taking the empty seat.

"Alright, gentlemen, who's dealing?"

"I believe it's Derek's turn," Sidney commented, his piercing hazel eyes looking directly at the brunette surgeon. Derek shifted uncomfortably, taking the deck and shuffling it.

"Please stop staring at me like that, sir," Derek muttered as he dealt the cards. "It makes me feel like I've done something wrong."

Sidney laughed, averting his gaze to his cards.

After seven rounds, the good fortune still mostly fell on Sidney, with Victor and Derek each winning once. Tyler had come in to watch the game, stationing himself behind Derek, glancing at his best friend's cards.

"No, dude... _no._ Don't do it, man. You should--"

"Tyler, I thank you for your help... now please shut up."

"...sorry."

Four rounds later, it seemed that Niles Stannis was now on a winning streak.

Derek sighed.

"Tyler, do you want to take my place?"

"Yeah, sure."

"What, tired of losing?" Mary joked.

"I'm _thirsty. _I'm going to get something to drink. I'll be back later."

Derek left the room, heading for the kitchen to grab another beer. As he opened the bottle, he suddenly decided that Greg had the right idea- the stale air was starting to get to him.

Derek stepped out onto the patio, looking up at the inky black sky as he breathed in the fresh air.

Such a beautiful night...

"...but Dr. Hoffman, the people, they're--"

"That's enough, Greg..."

_...Dr. Hoffman is here? When did he get here? ...whatever. It sounds like he and Dr. Kasal are talking about something serious. ...I wonder what..._

Derek stayed where he was, quiet, waiting to see what would be said next...

"...what you've said is true, Greg. Things are starting to change. But it hasn't changed enough... if you do anything, Greg, you could suddenly find yourself playing a very dangerous game."

"...yes, Dr. Hoffman. I understand."

Derek suddenly heard approaching footsteps; Dr. Hoffman's towering frame suddenly came out of the darkness from the other end of the patio.

"A-ah! D... Dr. Hoffman...!"

"Derek...?" Dr. Hoffman frowned slightly. "How long have you been standing there...?"

"J-just for a minute, s-sir... I only heard y-you say something about danger... n-nothing else, I swear...!"

Dr. Hoffman sighed quietly.

"...alright. ...have a good night, Derek. I will see you later."

Dr. Hoffman re-entered the house with the intention to leave for the night. Derek calmed down slightly...

"Derek? What are you doing here--"

"_Agh!!_"

Derek nearly dropped his beer as Greg suddenly appeared from the shadows.

"_Why is everyone trying to scare me to death?!_"

Greg chuckled, placing a comforting hand on the young brunette's shoulder.

"Sorry about that, Derek..."

"...it's alright, Dr. Kasal. ...I only came out here for fresh air, that's all... I wasn't expecting you and Dr. Hoffman to practice your ninja abilities of surprise on me."

Greg laughed.

"Well, we're done practicing, Derek. Would it be alright with you if I joined you for a little while?"

"Y-yeah, of course."

Greg slowly took a seat in one of the patio chairs, sipping from his beer bottle. Derek leaned against the railing, staring off into the distance, occasionally taking a drink from his bottle.

For a time, there was silence.

"...Dr. Kasal... can I ask you a question?" Derek finally spoke, his voice quiet.

"Of course."

Derek paused briefly, trying to find the right way to start his question.

"...for the first two years I was resident, I... I liked what I was doing," he began slowly. "I felt like I was helping people end their lives before they lost meaning... that I was doing good."

"...you say 'liked'," Greg noted. "You didn't say you still enjoyed it."

"...I think it started about the time I met Dr. Hoffman," Derek admitted, fixing his glasses. "He... he's more than twice as old as most of the patients I've had to treat, but... he was so very different. He... he's strong... and he doesn't act like... like his life was meaningless.

"That made me wonder... if he could have the will to keep living, and be happy about it, and he's older than forty- hell, older than _sixty_... then why am I trying to infect all these people? Just because they want to die... and that's what society wants? ...something... doesn't feel right. ...is it normal... to be thinking about this?"

There was a brief silence. It was broken by Greg's quiet sigh.

"Derek... you should be careful who you tell this to," he spoke softly, his tone serious. "Some people might consider that blasphemous. You could get into... untold amounts of trouble."

Derek tensed up; had he made a mistake in telling Greg...?

"...don't worry. I won't tell anyone," Greg continued, a small smile forming on his face. "But... we _do_ need to talk about that... at a different time. When there's not so many people. Alright?"

"...alright, Dr. Kasal. ...thanks for listening."

"You're welcome, Derek."

They went inside.

--------

(Chapter six complete.

Quite a serious conversation there, wasn't it? It turned out better than I had hoped for. That makes me happy inside.

Chapter seven is being written ever so slowly... it will be a long chapter. I'm going to say that right now. But it is also going to kick some major ass.

Please review!)


	7. Silence

(Really quick, before the ramble: MoonCat, you misunderstood my notes- I had up to chapter nine planned, then there was a MASSIVE brain freeze. It's going to be longer than nine chapters.

Oh my God. Chapter seven is not all that conducive to happiness, for a couple reasons.

Reason one: The events in this chapter are not happy events. Not to say they're sad; they're just not happy.

Reason two: In two chapters, I have no idea what's going to happen. Seriously. Chapters ten through twelve- huge blank. But I have an idea for what I want to do for chapter thirteen.

...actually, I'm starting to get an idea... OH MY GOD THE INSPIRATION IS OVERWHELMING MUST WRITE THIS DOWN -writes-

Ahem... I should start this chapter before I totally forget about it, huh?

Characters © Nintendo)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Seven- Silence

--------

_**DStiles25 has logged in.**_

_**Raisin has logged in.**_

_DStiles25: 5 days off! 5 days off!_

_Raisin: STFU, you bastard. We only get three._

_DStiles25: Oh.. sorry, Victor._

_Raisin: Oh, whatever. I miss the lab, actually._

_Raisin: At least there I'm not surrounded by morons._

_DStiles25: -sigh-_

_Raisin: I gtg, Derek. I'll see you later._

_DStiles25: Fine. Bye, Victor._

_**Raisin has logged off.**_

_**DStiles25 has logged off.**_

--------_ **  
**_

Derek dragged himself into the kitchen to see Greg and Angie sitting at the table, drinking coffee.

"Good morning, Derek," Angie greeted as the brunette instantly gravitated towards the coffee pot.

"How are you this morning?" Greg asked, sipping from his coffee mug slowly.

"I've never been so hung over... and I didn't even drink that much," Derek groaned as he poured himself a cup of the caffeinated beverage, then joining Greg and Angie at the table. "I'm still trying to figure out how that's even possible..."

"What are you talking about, Derek? You drank like, four beers in fifteen minutes near the end of the party," Angie chuckled behind her coffee mug. "It was kind of fun playing video games with you then... you were just drunk enough to curse the television, calling it the devil's magic ninja."

"Ugh..." Derek frowned, somewhat ashamed of himself. "No more alcohol for a while, then..."

"But did you enjoy yourself?" Greg asked. "That was really the whole point of the party, to give everyone a chance to goof off, for once..."

"Yeah, it was ni--"

Derek suddenly remembered the question he had asked the night before...

"...Dr. Kasal, will you answer my question now?"

Greg's smile faltered slightly...

"Angie... will you please leave the room for a few minutes?"

"Yes, Dr. Kasal..."

Angie left the kitchen, taking her coffee with her.

"...Derek, feeling guilty about infecting others is completely normal," Greg began. "Nearly all the people I knew in my residency felt guilty at some point, including myself- that's part of the reason we're called the Damned. Because we feel things that the other people don't."

"...so, I'm not losing my mind?" Derek asked hopefully.

"No, you're not," Greg shook his head.

"Thank God..." Derek sighed.

"...but... just because it's normal doesn't mean that it's always a good thing. It could become dangerous..."

"...huh? How?"

Greg sighed, his expression stoic.

"Like I said, feeling guilty is normal. But... most residents get over it by the time they become full-fledged doctors. Some people, however... never get over it. They go around infecting people like they ought to be, but... they're looking for a way to change everything. To overthrow the system. And if they're found out, discovered as the traitors that they are... they're... silenced."

"W-what?!" Derek gasped, disbelieving. "They- they kill them--?!"

"Derek, I'm warning you now," Greg continued, leaning a little closer to Derek, frowning slightly. "It's okay to doubt... but you've got to play the game, by their rules. I don't want you to disappear, too..."

"...you knew someone that was silenced...?"

Greg hesitated.

"...yes... my--"

"Excuse me..."

Derek and Greg looked up to see Angie standing in the doorway, holding the cordless phone.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but... Dr. Kasal, it's for you..."

"Tell them to call me back later, I'm busy right now--"

"It's urgent, they say."

Greg frowned; something didn't feel right about this...

"...alright."

Angie hurried over, handing Greg the phone. He brought it to his ear.

"This is Greg Kasal."

Greg's expression suddenly became one of shock.

"S-sir...! ...what do you need from me?"

As the person on the other end spoke, Greg's hazel eyes focused on Derek. The young brunette could see the troubled and worried look behind those hazel eyes...

"...I understand, sir. ...yes. You're welcome."

He hung up. Greg slowly handed the phone back to Angie.

"Dr. Kasal, who was that?" the young blonde queried, her green eyes reflecting her curiosity.

Greg stood up.

"...someone important. I have to go in to work," he spoke, his tone serious- direct. "There's an emergency patient- they want my help."

"But you're supposed to be off!" Angie protested. Derek, however, sensed something odd about the whole situation...

"Dr. Kasal... was that Dr. Hoffman?" he asked.

"...no. ...someone with... more authority than Dr. Hoffman."

Before he left the room, Greg looked straight at Derek. Derek suddenly understood- the emergency patient; Greg was going to have to silence them--

"Are we going with you?" Angie asked, following Dr. Kasal out of the room. Derek finally stood up, moving slowly, deep in thought...

"No. I want you both to stay here, Angie." Greg grabbed his jacket from his bedroom, pulling it on before heading for the front door.

"Yes, sir..."

"Dr. Kasal."

Greg turned around, his hand on the doorknob, to see Derek standing in the hall, his brown eyes serious... almost worried.

"...do you know the patient?"

Greg froze briefly...

_He knows something's not right... how long until I have to tell him...?_

"...no, I don't," Greg shook his head, opening the front door. "...it's eleven now; I should be back by four at the latest. I'll see you both when I get back."

"Alright, Dr. Kasal..."

Greg left, closing the door behind him.

Derek sighed.

"Derek... what's wrong? ...and what were you two talking about, anyways?"

The young brunette ran a hand through his messy hair, thinking.

"...we weren't talking about anything serious. ...I've... got this feeling... something's going to happen- something bad," he replied. "...there's no sense worrying about it, I guess. ...let's straighten up. This place is a mess."

"...alright, Derek."

--------

It was seven thirty.

Greg still wasn't back.

Derek sat on the front porch, waiting; he had promised Angie, before she went to take a nap, that he would wait for Greg to return.

And now, even he began to worry...

Wait--

_Ah! That's his car...!_

The silver Corvette slowly pulled into the driveway; Greg got out of the driver's seat.

Derek stood, starting to approach Greg.

"Dr. Kasal, what--"

He suddenly froze.

Even in the fading light, it was evident that Greg's skin had taken on an ashen color. His breathing was labored; his hand clawed at his chest as he stumbled towards the front door.

"Dr. Kasal, what's--"

"Derek..."

Greg's voice was raspy, but still strong...

"Derek, go inside..."

"What's wrong with—"

"_INSIDE!!_"

Derek flew through the front door, fearing Greg's fierce tone; Greg followed, collapsing onto the couch in the living room.

"Dr. Kasal, what happened to you?!"

"Derek, get over here..."

Derek quickly approached Greg, kneeling by the sofa. Greg's piercing hazel eyes looked directly at Derek.

"I don't have much time," Greg began, his voice strained. "You... you asked me if I knew someone... who was silenced. ...my girlfriend, Cybil... and... my brother's wife... they refused to... to follow the system..."

Derek's eyes widened.

"Your girlfriend and Sidney's wife--?!"

"We never saw them again," Greg gasped for breath. "But... it was supposed to intimidate us- to make us--"

The hand on Greg's chest suddenly flew to his throat; he began coughing violently--

"Dr. Kasal--?!"

Derek froze in horror as blood flowed from Greg's mouth, falling onto the sofa, to the floor, dark red blood everywhere--

"_Angie!_" Derek shouted as Greg continued to cough up blood. "_Angie, get in here!!_"

He heard footsteps rushing down the hall--

"_Oh my God...!_"

Angie's green eyes widened in shock and horror; her hands flew to her mouth--

"Angie, call someone!" Derek ordered, panic rising to his voice. "Call... call--"

"Call... Sidney..."

"What...?"

Greg's hazel eyes were never before so intense...

"Call... Sidney..." he ordered, his voice soft yet strong. "You need... to tell him... they got to me, too- you have to warn him--"

Angie ran to the phone...

Derek's mind began to race...

_They got to him, too...? Then-- then, he- he's--_

"You've figured it out... haven't you, Derek?"

Greg allowed a small smirk to play at his bloodstained lips as a look of realization came to Derek's face--

"...why would you do this-- ...and why would you tell me, Dr. Kasal?"

"Sidney? Th-this is Angie Thompson... your brother, he--"

"Listen carefully, Derek," Greg began, blood still trickling from his mouth. "Yes, I've refused to give up my guilt. When they disappeared... it was supposed to frighten us into submission-- they didn't succeed. We were convinced... we had to keep trying- to correct the injustice--"

"'We'?"

"Yes... me, Sidney... others--"

Another coughing fit came over Greg; blood poured from his mouth--

"Dr. Kasal--!"

"Derek... you need to talk to Sidney; I'm... I'm almost out of time..."

"...yes, Sidney- we'll be there soon."

Angie hung up the phone, quickly approaching Greg and Derek.

"Dr. Kasal, we're taking you to Caduceus." Her voice was firm; she refused to show her fear and worry. "Derek, we need to get him in the car."

"What? But-- why? What for--"

"Just shut up and pick him up!"

Derek quickly slid an arm behind Greg's back; carefully, he lifted the bleeding surgeon, carrying him out the open front door.

"Dr. Kasal, where are the keys to the car?" Angie asked.

"...still in... the ignition..."

Angie quickly got into the driver's seat.

"Derek, get in the back seat. You'll have to watch over Dr. Kasal."

"Alright."

Derek carefully put Greg in the back seat, then climbed into the car through the other side.

Angie quickly drove onto the street, racing off.

Greg groaned, clawing weakly at his chest.

"Dr. Kasal, hold on," Derek pleaded softly. "We're going to--"

"Derek... I'll appreciate your efforts... but you won't be able to save me," Greg cut off, his voice fading fast. "But... the real question is... what will you do... after my death?"

Derek froze.

Never before had he felt like this...

So anxious to save a life, instead of ending it.

"Dr. Kasal... we _will_ save you. ...just hold on."

Greg's hazel eyes slid shut, a weak smile playing at his bloodstained lips.

The car raced towards Caduceus.

--------

(End chapter seven.

Holy shit! What's going to happen next chapter?

I guess I better write it faster, huh?

Please review!)


	8. Against the Flow

(Alright, I've got a confession to make.

I am hitting a serious lack of will to write.

With that out of the way- chapter nine is written on paper, so at least you'll get that much in a timely fashion... and then I'll just go and save Greg's life about seven or eight times. Problem solved in forty minutes!

Too bad I can't do that during school, which is where all my writing is done...

Oh well! Chapter!

Characters © Nintendo)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Eight- Against the Flow

--------

"This is bad... he's... he's too far gone..."

Derek, Angie and Greg were at Caduceus, with Greg lying on the couch in the basement- the only place where they could rest assured that nobody would find them. Sidney, Leslie and Victor were there as well, watching the elder Kasal twin gasp for breath, blood spilling from his lips.

"There has to be something we can do...!" Derek protested.

"Look at him," Victor argued, pointing to Greg. "What do you think we _can _do? If we cut him open, we won't be able to do anything- we don't get rid of sickness, we cause it! How do you suppose we try and induce health?!"

"I... I don't know," Derek glared at the dark-haired researcher, "but I'll be damned if we just give up!"

Sidney fixed his glasses.

"Derek."

The brunette surgeon looked at the younger Kasal twin. Sidney's expression revealed no emotion.

"Why are you trying to save him? Our mission is to bring about death; saving lives is not your job... you're supposed to be celebrating his swift death, are you not?"

Derek was outraged; how could Sidney _say_ that, especially after what he's lost already, this was his _brother,_ he was _dying,_ how could he be so willing to let Greg go like this--?!

His clenched fist suddenly connected with Sidney's face; Sidney's glasses flew away from his face.

"Chief--!" Leslie gasped.

"How can you bring yourself to _say _that?!" Derek roared angrily. "He's your _brother!_ Are you going to just sit and watch him _die?!_"

"Derek--" Angie started, moving towards the young surgeon, trying to placate him.

"You're going to watch him die!" Derek couldn't contain his anger. "First they take your wife, you never see her again-- and now! Now, they're trying to silence your brother, they _send him back_ so you can _watch_ him_ die,_ and you choose to do _nothing?!_"

Sidney froze, his hazel eyes widening.

"H-how did you know about... about Victoria--?"

"He told me! And he told me about how you're sick of the way things are done, that you're trying to change it-- well, start now! Start _now _by _saving _him!"

There was a tense silence, broken only by Greg's heavy breathing.

"...so... you know," Sidney muttered, running a hand through his dark brown hair as he sighed. "...you're right. Now... is the time to start."

He slowly moved towards the couch, kneeling beside his brother. Greg's hazel eyes were clouded, but he still managed to look up at his younger brother.

"Greg, I know you heard that. What do you want us to do?"

"...listen... to Derek," Greg murmured weakly, blood flowing from his mouth. "...I doubt... anything... can be done... for me... but, you can still... try..."

Sidney hesitated before standing up. He turned to face Derek, Angie, Leslie and Victor.

His hazel eyes burned with determination.

"It seems safe to assume that there is bleeding in the lungs," he began, his voice strict. "Derek, you will be operating- find the source of the bleeding, and stop it. Angie, you will be his assistant."

"Yes, Chief."

"Understood."

"Leslie, I want you to make sure there's nobody wandering around the building... nobody else is allowed to find out about this operation. Get rid of them using any means possible. After you've done that, get as many pints of clean AB negative as you can get- he's lost more blood than what we've seen."

"Y-yes, Chief." Leslie quickly ran off.

"Victor, you'll be in the OR as well."

"What for? I'm not a surgeon." Victor crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Because perhaps you could find a way to make yourself useful."

"...understood, Chief."

--------

"...Angie, this won't do."

They had just gotten into the OR. Derek was holding the dirty scalpel over Greg's chest, about to cut... but not putting the blade against the skin.

"What's wrong, Dr. Stiles?" Angie asked. Victor sighed impatiently.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you're talking about the dirty blade?"

"What would be the point of treating the bleeding in his lungs if he just ends up dying of a lethal infection shortly thereafter?" Derek nodded. "Do we have any new blades- any clean blades?"

"Y-yeah... just a second."

Angie rummaged through the supply cart, quickly pulling out a new, clean scalpel.

"Here you go, Dr. Stiles."

Derek took the blade, pressing it firmly against the skin, watching the scalpel clearly cut through the skin, the fat, then the fascia. He carefully spread the incision so as to get a better view of the right lung--

"How is this even possible?!" Derek's brown eyes widened in shock. Angie and Victor peered into the wound--

The lung was heavily marred; several lacerations bled profusely, covering the organ with bright red blood. They could only guess how much blood had accumulated inside the lung; it was obvious these cuts were deep--

"_Shit,_" Victor cursed before he headed for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Angie demanded.

"To go create a cure," Victor spat. "Stiles- trust me on this one. Those lacerations are appearing spontaneously- and they're probably on the other lung as well. You need to drain and suture the wounds- and don't freak out if new ones appear. ...I'll be back soon."

Victor left the operating room.

"How does he know so much about this?" Angie muttered.

"I don't think it matters right now," Derek replied. "Drain."

Derek drained away most of the blood that oozed from one of the lacerations; he could clearly see the long cut that leaked blood.

"Stitches."

He quickly sutured the wound; blood ceased to flow from it.

"Good... drain, Angie."

"Yes, Dr. Stiles."

For thirty minutes Derek carefully drained away blood, then sutured the lacerations, preventing them from bleeding out more. Eventually the surface of the lung was free of wounds- covered only with stitches.

"Nice work, Dr. Stiles," Angie complimented. "It looks like this lung is taken care of; let's see if the other one needs treatment as well--"

A large laceration suddenly formed, bleeding profusely.

"A-ah--!"

"Drain, Angie!"

Derek quickly drained the blood away from the new wound.

"Sti--"

"Here."

"Thank you."

He quickly sutured the cut.

"We should wait until Victor comes with the cure before switching to the other lung," Angie muttered, still visibly shaken by the spontaneous laceration.

"Yeah... good idea," Derek nodded.

Two more wounds appeared--

"Let's hope Victor gets here soon...!" he gritted his teeth as he quickly sewed the new wounds shut.

"You said my name?"

Victor walked into the room, holding a vial filled with a purple liquid.

"Victor-- you found a cure already?!" Angie gawked as the dark-haired researcher handed her the bottle.

"Do you underestimate my abilities?" Victor scoffed. "Listen, Derek- you need to inject that serum into the lung. It'll take about a minute to diffuse completely throughout the tissue, but it'll stop the lacerations from forming."

"Alright. Angie--"

"Here's the syringe."

"Thank you."

Derek carefully injected the violet liquid into the lung.

A laceration formed at the other end of the organ--

"Drain."

The brunette surgeon quickly drained away the blood that oozed out.

"Stitches."

The cut was sealed shut.

"Alright, Derek, this lung'll be fine," Victor informed, crossing his arms. "Start on the other one."

Derek closed the initial incision, placing a bandage over the stitches.

"Scalpel, Angie."

He quickly made his second incision, spreading it so he could see--

The other lung was definitely in worse condition; it was impossible to see the lacerations through all the blood that poured from them.

"Drain."

"Here you go."

Derek quickly drained away the largest pool of blood. The laceration spanned nearly the whole width of the lung.

"Stitches."

He quickly sutured the cut before it could bleed out to the point of obscuring his vision.

"Derek, inject the serum now," Victor instructed.

"But I can hardly even see the organ--"

"If you inject it now, then new cuts won't form, you idiot! Listen to me!"

"Okay, okay!"

"Here's the syringe, Doctor."

Derek injected the violet liquid into Greg's lung, hoping he hadn't injected into a laceration...

"There. Done. Are you happy, Victor?"

"No."

"Of course not... drain."

Quickly, Derek drained away another puddle of blood, exposing yet another wound.

"Stitches."

The cut was closed. Derek continued draining and suturing, draining and suturing, closing all the lacerations he saw until there were no more.

They waited briefly...

No new lacerations appeared. Angie, Derek and Victor breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"He should be good to go now," Victor grinned briefly. "Close him up, Derek."

The initial incision was closed, then a bandage placed over the stitches.

"Victor, how did you know about those lacerations?" Angie asked. Victor's grin faded slightly as he squirmed uncomfortably.

"I'll tell you when he wakes up, alright? Derek, say the words so we can get the hell out of here."

It felt odd, that he would be saying them, after saving a life instead of ending it...

But Derek couldn't ignore the sense of accomplishment that rose up within him.

"Operation successful. Let's get him out of here."

--------

(End chapter eight.

WHOOSH. Violence! Violence always makes things more interesting!

After this chapter comes the TALK chapters where absolutely nothing cool happens but they're in there for plot development. Plot is always a good thing to have with stories.

PS: Sidney was pretending to not care at the beginning to kind of test Derek; to see if he really meant to try and save Greg. Guess he got his answer, huh?

Also: Derek cuts through the fat- WHAT FAT. Greg is five inches taller than me and he weighs THREE POUNDS LESS he HAS no fat. Whatever.

Review please!)


	9. Evidence

(More insomniac than you, hungrier than a hippopotamus, and hopelessly addicted to caffeine... it's ITB, and she's returned with chapter nine!

This chapter is LE TALK. Hay muchas palabras. No action. Ow-hay any-may anguages-lay an-cay I-hay ooze-yay? MANY!

Cripes, I'm so tired. Let's get this chapter rolling before I faceplant the keyboard and have to erase seventeen pages of h's.

Also, just to get this out of the way; pick who's house they're at. It doesn't really matter.

All characters except Victoria © Nintendo

Victoria © Me... sorta. Kinda. Maybe. It's too late to be thinking.)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Nine- Evidence

--------

When Greg woke up the next morning, he kept his eyes closed for several minutes. He felt no pain... he was so certain that he had--

"Dr. Kasal...? Are you awake...?"

...if he was dead, then... why could he hear Derek's voice so clearly? ...unless--

Greg slowly opened his hazel eyes. His vision was fuzzy, but he could quite clearly see Derek's face, the expression changing from worry to relief.

"Oh, thank _God_... we were worried about you, Dr. Kasal-- we weren't sure if you were going to wake up..."

Derek quickly turned towards Sidney, who was sitting beside him, sleeping in his chair.

"Sidney, wake up, he's awake now--"

Greg had never seen his brother's eyes fly open so fast. Sidney leaned closer to Greg, his hazel eyes filled with subdued worry.

"Greg, are you alright?"

Greg tried to speak, but he couldn't; his throat was so dry, it was burning. His hand came to his mouth as he began to cough--

Derek began to panic as he saw dark red blood covering Greg's hand.

"H-he's bleeding again! What are we going to do--?!"

"Derek, shut up and look."

"How can you say that, he's your--"

"_Look,_ Derek. It's old blood."

Derek took another look at the blood on Greg's hand...

It was dark- almost brown. It had been sitting in Greg's lungs for a while.

Soon, no more blood came from Greg's mouth- but he continued to cough.

"Get him a glass of water," Sidney ordered.

"Yes, Sidney."

Greg's cough died down as Derek left for the kitchen. He looked up tiredly at Sidney, laying on the couch, his hand resting on his sore throat. He tried to speak, but no words came out; only a dry, rasping noise.

"Don't worry, Greg," Sidney spoke, his voice uncharacteristically gentle as he placed a hand on his older brother's arm. "Wait a little bit... you don't have to tell me now. You've got all the time in the world."

Greg smiled.

--------

"Alright, Chief... we want to know what the hell's going on."

Greg, Sidney, Derek, Angie, Victor and Leslie were gathered at the kitchen table, all sitting, most staring at the younger Kasal twin.

"First, Victor, you need to tell us how you knew so much about that condition," Sidney responded, fixing his glasses. "I know for a fact I've never seen anything like that before."

"It's not that important--"

"You _promised_, in the operating room, that you'd tell us," Angie retorted, staring directly at Victor.

The dark-haired researcher sighed, frustrated.

"A week or so ago, I got orders from up above to create a new disease. They wanted it to cause a quick, but painful death. ...so I invented a bacteria that would weaken the bonds in the body tissues, causing spontaneous splits in the tissue- lacerations that had no obvious cause. When it was done, they came and collected a sample. I told them that it wasn't ready yet, that I wasn't... sure how it would _actually_ work when exposed to human tissue."

"...they took it anyways," Derek realized.

"Because they found their test subject, didn't they?" Sidney frowned.

"Yeah, they said they already had a test subject," Victor muttered. "Before you ask, the antidote- I had an extra sample of the bacteria, and it was incredibly easy to create the antidote. The serum seeks out and destroys the bacteria and strengthens the tissue again, stopping the formation of lacerations."

"Thank goodness that we have someone like you around," Angie sighed. "Otherwise..."

"Let's not think about that," Greg cut off, his voice still somewhat hoarse, but strong. "For now... we really owe you an explanation as to what's going on. ...what's _really_ going on."

He took a quick drink of water. All eyes turned towards Greg, waiting.

"Most of the doctors... are against this system of sickness," he began slowly. "It doesn't seem right... and we're trying to do something about it."

"'We're'?" Leslie asked.

"Greg and I both... are against the system," Sidney explained. "Along with others."

"Who else?" Derek queried.

"...we can't say," Greg spoke hesitantly. "It's dangerous business, to be saying you don't support the system. It's dangerous even if you _don't _tell anyone. ...so we don't expose our allies, to try and protect them."

"Why are you against the system?" Victor spoke, his dark eyes, normally cool and distant, now reflecting genuine curiosity.

There was a tense silence.

"...if sickness _is_ the true law of this world, then why are we healthy so often?" Greg began. "We don't have to try too hard to be healthy... and look at your patients; chances are you're going to see them again a couple of times. And if we're supposed to be ill, then... why are we all born healthy? Not one of us is born with an illness.

"That, at least, is part of the reason why _I'm _involved. I won't speak for Sidney... but I know that I can't believe in something that's told to me when all the evidence piles up against it."

"Yeah, same here," Sidney nodded.

"...then... what's the rest of the reason?" Angie asked softly.

Sidney shifted uncomfortably in his seat, fixing his glasses. Greg's expression darkened.

"Greg... lost his fiancée when she rose up against the system," Sidney began. "...and... I lost my wife and unborn child."

Angie and Leslie gasped in shock, their hands flying to their mouths; Victor was rendered speechless, his dark eyes wide in disbelief. Only Derek was not taken completely by surprise; but he, too, was in silent shock, feeling sorrowful for Greg and Sidney's loss.

"...how did it happen?" Leslie's voice was quiet.

"...the most common way for 'silencing' someone is to infect them with an incurable disease, like they tried to do to me, but- ...it happened at night. The arrests always happen at night," Greg spoke, his hazel eyes staring at something miles away as he recalled the incident. "We had all gathered at Sidney's house, congratulating Victoria and Sidney..."

--------

_"Congratulations, you lucky bastard... you're gonna be a daddy!"_

_"No, not a daddy; a __father__."_

_"Yeah, try telling that to your kid!"_

_Greg and Cybil laughed. Even Victoria couldn't stifle her giggles, her stomach swollen..._

--------_  
_

"...we head the front door slam open," Sidney muttered, the painful memory resurfacing. "Before we could think about what was happening, they were-"

--------

_"Wh-what the--?!"_

_Several men, garbed in black, rushed in-- Victoria and Cybil screamed as two of them men seized them, dragging them out--_

_"Sidney, don't let them--!!"_

_"Let go of--!"_

_Sidney suddenly collapsed, unconscious after being struck from behind; Victoria cried out._

_"Sidney--!"_

_"Greg, help us--!"_

_Cybil and Victoria were dragged out forcefully; Greg tried to go after them, but was suddenly stopped when one of the black-clad men seized Greg, pinning him in a choke hold--_

_"Let- me- GO!" Greg roared angrily, writhing frantically, trying to break free. "Let me GO, they haven't done-- urk--!"_

_The man had suddenly pinched off Greg's carotid arteries with his choke hold; Greg pried desperately at the arm around his neck, but his body quickly grew limp; the room faded to black as he lost consciousness..._

--------_  
_

Silence filled the room.

"...it's been more than eight years... and there's still not a day that goes by where I don't think of that night," Sidney finally spoke, fingering the collar of his shirt. "...I do this... in memory of my wife and child. ...and what will you four do?"

Leslie, Angie, Derek and Victor were pulled out of their thoughts as they looked at the younger Kasal twin, confused by his words.

"We've told you enough to get us in serious trouble," Greg explained. "Enough for them to kill us directly, not behind the cover of a disease... enough for them to arrest us, like they did to our loved ones. What will you do with that information? Will you turn us in? Will you continue supporting the system, without breathing a word of this to anyone?"

"...can I ask a question?" Derek spoke.

"Of course."

"Why _would_ you tell us this? Why would you risk your lives like this, to people who have only been taught to spread death and sickness?"

Greg couldn't help it; he let out a small grin.

"That's a good question, Derek. ...I don't know why Sidney's choosing to reveal himself--"

"Because we promised each other we would be in this together, Greg--"

"Right- well, I'm saying this all... out of a sense of faith. Faith that no matter what you choose to do... it will be for the better."

There was a brief silence as the four residents thought carefully...

"...I've gotten myself too involved to back out now," Derek finally spoke. "I'll support you, Dr. Kasal... no matter what ends up happening."

"I will, too," Angie nodded, her green eyes determined. "I can't believe that you would do something for the wrong reasons, Dr. Kasal."

"Chief... I'm on your side," Leslie agreed. "I'll stick with you."

Victor bit back a sigh, running a hand through his stringy black hair.

"...hmph. ...Chief... if you ever need anything from me, don't be afraid to ask."

--------

(Abrupt end to chapter nine.

That actually was a lot less sucky on computer than it was on paper. All hail the power of last minute additions!

About when Greg passed out... I saw it on TV, the Marines are taught to use blood chokes instead of air chokes. You pinch of the carotid arteries, you're unconscious within seconds. Very effective. I wish I could practice that on someone.

I typed this while listening to Destiny's Child and the Dave Brubeck Quartet- such fitting music, I know. Please review!)


	10. Dark Point

(You could have been reading this approximately seven hours ago, but because the computers at school have this voodoo-copy of Word, you have been deprived. We should riot!

But I'm too busy listening to my new CD. Seriously- it's amazing.

What is it, you ask?

Why, Minutes to Midnight, by Linkin Park, of course. Hee hee hee.

Enough rambling; chapter!

All characters © Nintendo

Patients © me)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Ten- Dark Point

--------

"Doctor, isn't there _anything_ you can do for me?"

"I'm afraid I can't do anything now... nothing's been shown to stick for longer than two or three days- but we're trying. ...we... we do still have cancer as a fallback, if you really want to get out."

"Do it, Doctor. I'm tired of being here. I have to get out."

"Alright, Ms. Caldecott... I'll go put you on the schedule."

Derek exited room 121, holding a clipboard in his hand.

"Ah, Derek... so you've finished your rounds for the morning?"

Derek jumped slightly as Greg seemingly materialized behind him.

"Y-yes, I have, Dr. Kasal... Mr. Davila's infection has taken hold- I think we can let him go tonight. Ms. Caldecott... has requested an emergency operation. She wants out."

Greg sighed.

Derek was beginning to understand Greg's frustration with the system. It had been almost a month since the operation that had saved his mentor's life; with each passing day, Derek became increasingly frustrated with all of the patients, all these people who had lost their will to live... who had come in, only wanting to die.

"Alright. ...oh, don't forget- you have an operation scheduled for two in the afternoon-- Mr. Morrison is going to be infected with tuberculosis. Remember?"

Derek grimaced.

No, he hadn't, actually.

"Yes, Dr. Kasal."

--------

"Scalpel, Angie."

Derek took the dirty blade that was handed to him... it took all his will to cut the patent's chest and not ask for a clean tool.

"Are you alright, Dr. Stiles?" Angie asked, noticing Derek's hesitation.

"...ever since that operation, it's been... difficult to do this," Derek admitted as he spread the incision, getting a better view of the lung. "It was... a much more powerful sense of satisfaction... when I saved him. I... I still feel proud that he's alright. I certainly felt more proud than I do right now."

Angie smiled briefly, handing Derek the syringe filled with tubercle bacilli.

"That was an amazing operation. But... be careful, Derek. You know we have to worry about who we're talking to, now."

"Yeah, I know," Derek nodded as he injected the bacteria into the lung tissue. "But... that doesn't mean that I can't wait for the day that things will be different."

Angie took the empty syringe.

"Here's the needle and thread, Dr. Stiles."

Derek sutured the incision.

"Bandages."

Derek carefully laid the bandage over the stitches.

"Operation successful. Let's get him out of here."

"Yes, Dr. Stiles."

--------

"You seem kind of distracted lately, Derek. What's wrong?"

Derek, Angie and Greg had returned home. Derek sighed as he sat on the couch, typing away on his laptop.

"Dr. Kasal... I'm not-- I can hardly even _pretend_ to be happy anymore... I'm _sick_ of spreading diseases."

Greg smiled briefly as he changed the channel on the television. Angie was laying on the floor, comfortable as she slept.

"Let me guess- this has been happening since you saved my life, hasn't it?"

_DStiles25: I swear, he's __psychic_

_Tohgo25: Well, that or you're really obvious, dude._

_DStiles25: You're starting to sound like Victor._

"Yeah," Derek nodded. "The... the feeling of saving a life, not trying to help _end _it-- it was the first time... that I actually felt like I was doing something good, for once. But... ever since then, when I've infected someone, I feel... like I'm cheating them out of a life they could be having. I feel like an accomplice to murder."

_DStiles25: Hey, Tyler... have you ever had doubts about what we do?_

"Derek... we're being forced to be accomplices to murder," Greg's smile faded into a frown. "...that's why we're trying to change the way things are done."

_Tohgo25: ...I kinda don't want to admit it, but... yeah. A lot._

_Tohgo25: ...it feels like... like I'm committing murder, sometimes. It's really freakin' me out._

"How long until we can do something about it...?"

"Not too much longer..."

_DStiles25: ...you too?_

_Tohgo25: ...yeah, man. ...it doesn't feel right._

Derek smiled grimly.

_DStiles25: I know what you mean._

"It's getting late... I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, Dr. Kasal."

"Good night, Derek."

--------

Greg hadn't been lying...

The arrests happened at night.

Derek was abruptly woken up by a rough pair of hands seizing his shoulders, pulling him out of bed.

"Get up!"

Apparently he didn't get up fast enough-- the hands on his shoulders moved to his neck, forcefully lifting him out of the bed, forcing him to walk out of the room. Derek's eyes began to focus--

The front door was open; a man dressed in black was carrying an unconscious Angie over his shoulder out the the front door. Another man was struggling to restrain Greg, who fought to break free of the disguised man's grasp--

"Let me go, _let us go, you can't--!_"

He was silenced with a solid blow to the back of the neck. Derek's brown eyes suddenly widened in horror--

"Dr. Kasal--! _Let me g--!_"

The last thing Derek saw was the wall as the room faded to black.

--------

(End chapter ten.

WHOOSH. Everybody likes drama!

Taking a small break(aka an impostor hiatus) to work on my two "Final Fantasy" stories... I've gotten some ideas that I can't forget about. All of you are lucky ducks!

Please review!)


	11. Oppression of a People

(Just as a warning; chapter twelve will not be up for a while. I'm so busy writing all my other stuff and taking naps(GASP) that chapter twelve is coming about... slowly.

Originally, chapters eleven, twelve and thirteen were going to be this chapter... but eventually, logic won out and I split it up.

I'm hungry.

Oh, real quick- due to the sick and twisted philosophy of this world, it's not uncommon for children to have stepparents. (Personally, I 'm glad we believe that health is good.)

Named Characters © Nintendo

Mother, stepfather, daughter © Me)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Eleven- Oppression of a People

--------

Derek woke up in a dark room.

His head ached. Where was he, he wondered...?

"Oh, good... you're awake."

Derek looked up-

A woman stood over him, her light brown eyes staring down at the brunette. Derek came to the logical conclusion that wherever he was, he was currently lying on the floor. Slowly, he tried to stand- it was hard, with his hands bound behind his back, and his legs too weak to help him up--

"I don't think so."

He quickly grew still as the woman placed the sharp heel of her shoe onto his throat, pressing down. Derek's brown eyes widened with fright, his breaths becoming slightly quicker and shallower...

"I'm in a good mood today; I think I'll let you ask... oh, three questions should be enough," the woman spoke, her tone playful, yet chilling.

"...uh... where am I?"

Derek's voice sounded foreign to his own ears. The woman chuckled darkly.

"Where are you? The prison. The reformatory. Heaven. Hell. Home. Call it what you want; all that really matters is that you won't be leaving the same way you came in."

"...y-you're going to kill me--?!"

"No, _I _won't; however, I'd love to strangle that bastard that calls himself Greg Kasal," the woman spat. "But who said that you would be killed? There's hardly any hope of you and your 'friends' being let go, however-- I've seen the footage of the operation you performed. How you _saved his life_-- the life of the _bastard_ who cared about his life more than that of the woman he loved. The way she kept screaming, 'How could he have left us, why did he leave us to this fate', for what he did to her, he shouldn't even _exist--!_"

Derek missed the last bit of her rant, his eyes widening- of _course_, there was a camera in all the operating rooms of all hospitals, how could they have forgotten to destroy the evidence--?!

"Do you have a last question you'd like to ask, before I leave you to rot, Sinner?" the woman's contemptuous voice pulled Derek out of his daze. He silently cursed himself; he hadn't meant to ask the second question...

"...where are my friends?"

"...your _friends?_ You want to know where your _friends_ are?"

Derek only felt a sudden blow to the back of his head before he knew no more...

The woman's eyes glared hatefully at Derek.

"They're not with you."

She left the dark room.

--------

Greg woke up in a chair.

His head was hanging; he slowly lifted it, groaning, his hazel eyes sliding open. He tried to lift his hand to rub the drowsiness from his eyes--

He couldn't lift his hand.

His arms were bound behind the back of the chair.

"How nice of you to finally wake up, Greg."

Greg tried to turn his head, but couldn't find the source of the voice. He heard the sound of heels clicking softly against the cement floor, coming closer, from behind.

The sound stopped behind the chair.

"...who are you?" Greg demanded, hiding his fear.

"Well, you're much better at asking questions than that silly resident of yours. Who am I? I'm not you."

"Oh, _great..._ mind games," Greg growled. "Why were we arrested?"

"Oh, good... so you know what's happened to you," the woman spoke, her tone amused- almost playful. "Well, for a while, we thought you had learned your lesson, after your _precious_ fiancée and sister-in-law got arrested--"

Greg's eyes widened; she knew about that--?!

"...but when we saw the footage of the operation... when that goddamned idiot resident of yours saved your worthless life... well, now, we couldn't leave you running around, now could we? You can't have a voice after you've been silenced."

Greg scowled.

"...one more question. Where are my friends?"

The woman's lips twisted into a bitter smirk.

"Your 'friends'? Ha! They have damned you beyond redemption, and you call them your _friends?_ ...your one resident is elsewhere; you'll see him, eventually. The girl... we had no use for her. We knew that she would never see the truth. So we disposed of her- we have no use for those who choose to live and believe a lie."

Greg's heart sank; his carelessness had led to Angie's death...? Mentally, he cursed himself- why was everyone he knew dying, dying for being associated with him, for trying to help him...?

"Now now, none of that-- cheer up, Greg. We got a special present, just for you."

Greg looked up, confused--

He finally noticed that the wall in front of him was clear glass. The room on the other side of the glass wall was pitch-black.

"Oh, I think you'll _love_ this," the woman smiled, resting her hands on the back of the metal chair.

The lights flickered on. Greg's eyes widened in horror--

"_SIDNEY!_"

Sidney lay crumpled on the floor, unconscious, bleeding. His thin shirt was partially soaked with his blood, and Greg could see bone sticking out from Sidney's left leg--

"_What have you done to my brother?!_"

The woman smiled as Greg tried to wrench himself out of the chair, desperate to rush to his brother's side.

"We couldn't just let someone so close to you go scot-free, could we? We got him last night-- but not before he'd gotten his residents out of the house. Stubborn man... he wouldn't tell us where they'd gone... so we had to teach him a little lesson. Just a little one, though."

"Let him _go!_ He didn't _do _anything, why are you doing this to _him?!_"

Greg let a sudden cry as he was hit in the back of the head. He quickly grew silent, but his eyes never left Sidney, silently willing his younger brother to rise...

"'He didn't do anything'?" The woman's tone was scornful. "He let his wife be dragged away- let her die, without trying to intervene. A fine example of love and dedication, wouldn't you agree? And he insisted on trying to save your life- your worthless life, which you obviously valued more than your fiancée's--"

"_That's not true!_"

The woman was quiet, waiting patiently for Greg to continue.

"...you... you could never know, how much I loved her..." Greg choked out, tears slowly rolling down his face. "You could never know...!"

The woman smiled.

"Well, then... I suppose now's your chance to atone for the sin of abandoning the one you love, isn't it?"

Her thin fingers entangled themselves into Greg's messy hair, pulling his head up, forcing him to look forward--

Greg saw someone holding Sidney up, a large hand wrapped around his narrow throat; Sidney was now fully conscious, clawing at the hand as blood fell from his mouth.

"Si--!"

"_Oh, would you just shut the fuck up about your damn brother!!_"

Greg's head slammed into the back of the chair; he cried out in pain.

"Quit your bitching and listen," the woman growled. "Listen-- you be a good man, and see the truth-- come back to the righteous side, and we'll let you, your twin, and your resident go. Of course, someone would be watching you from now on- never going to be able to leave you unsupervised now, are we? But hey, you'd be alive-- that's all you really want, isn't it?"

"No."

Greg's voice was dangerous.

"You could _never_ understand. I will _never_ deny my beliefs for the promise of a long life... I could never face Sidney and Derek again, knowing I sold my soul to the _real _lie."

The woman sighed.

"Too bad you said that... now you've sealed their fates..."

She signaled to the man in the other room.

Sidney's actions became more desperate; he teared desperately at the hand around his neck, which had tightened-- the man's other hand crushed Sidney's ribs in its grasp, causing blood to spurt forth from his lips--

"Let him go-- let Sidney _go!_" Greg tried desperately to break the bonds that chained him in place. "He hasn't done anything, why are you torturing him?! He's not the one you want--!"

A cruel grin formed on the woman's pale lips.

"You heard him, Ian- let him go."

The man nodded before flinging Sidney aside. Greg watched in horror as Sidney crashed into one of the walls of the small, dark room.

Sidney slid to the floor and did not rise...

"_Sidney--_"

"_GODDAMNIT, SHUT UP ALREADY!_"

--------

"Daddy, Daddy, they have new Sinners! Can I go see the new Sinners, Daddy? Please?"

A young girl tugged excitedly on her stepfather's arm. How was she to know that he wasn't her real father- he was the only man she had ever known, apart from Adam. She didn't care about how he looked at her with such disdain; the girl had long ago fooled herself into believing that he just hid his love.

The man looked down at her with frosty blue eyes, an emotionless smile on his pallid face.

"Did you ask your mother already?"

"Yeah, but she just got that look again and stared out the window. Can I pleeeeease go, Daddy?"

"Just let me talk to your mother for a minute."

He walked into the bedroom, where his wife spent most of her time. The young girl waited on the other side of the closed door, her ear pressed against it as she listened.

She could hear her "father" yelling angrily- something about a new life... he always said something about life when he yelled at her. The girl winced when she heard the slap; her stepfather usually hit her mother when she was depressed.

The door opened- she quickly backed away, looking up into her stepfather's eyes.

"Mommy will take you to see the Sinners tomorrow."

"Yaaaaaay!"

The girl's mother heard her child's exclamation of delight.

Her dull eyes were empty of emotion, save for sadness, as she stared at the wall.

--------

(End chapter eleven.

Now wasn't that dramatic. I mean... daaaaamn.

Alright, quick question time- out of sheer boredom, I wrote this Trauma Center essay, which really is just a collection of focused rambles. Since it's not fanfiction, I can't post it here... but if any of you want to read it, you can email me and I'll send you a copy- my email is on my bio page. Do you want to read it?

It's a more real depiction of what I sound like, since there's not plot to follow.

Please review!)


	12. Recognition and Acknowledgement

(Okay, to start off- I'm quite sure I'm going to end up dying before long. I could bitch and complain about how life sucks- but then again, if I wanted to do that, then I'd change my name to Kid Emo and run around dressed in all black, bleeding from my eye sockets.

As an aside; I left the notebook this was written in at school the other day. I proceeded to then say "DAMNIT" more times in five minutes than Victor does in all of Second Opinion... if you replayed it seventeen times.

Big important things happen in this chapter! Everybody likes big important things!

Or maybe they don't. Whatever. In which case, there's also some not so important things-- and I think I'll shut up and write now!

PS: Acknowledgement IS spelled right.

Sidney, Greg, Derek, Angie, Tyler, Leslie © Nintendo

Other characters © Me)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Twelve- Recognition and Acknowledgement

--------

When Sidney finally came to, he instantly began to wish that he was still unconscious. His head pounded; his cracked ribs dug into his lungs, making breathing nearly impossible, especially when the blood began to flow from his mouth. He barely even noticed his broken leg anymore; he had lost feeling in it the other day.

The door to the room opened; he didn't even bother opening his eyes. Even if he had, the darkness would have cloaked the visitor.

"Get up."

The woman's harsh voice filled Sidney's ears.

His body remained still, and his hazel eyes closed.

But they quickly shot open as he felt a hand tightly grip his throat, jerking him to his feet. He clawed at the hand; it was difficult enough, trying to breathe _without_ someone choking him...!

"Oh, quit your panicking and listen," the woman snapped. "Your brother seems hell-bent on sending you to the grave with him... however, I'll make a deal with you. It's relatively straightforward; you see the truth, abandon your false ways, and live, or we leave you here and you die your painful death. If you see the error of your ways, we'll fix you up nicely- your leg, your ribs; you'll be good as new. Hell, we'll even give you a new life- just say the words, and it's yours."

No more pain...? And a new life. A wife, perhaps, and a child... basically, everything he had- or would have had- before it was lost to this system of corruption, of sickness... it could be his, if he just changed his beliefs...

Sidney tried to speak, to tell the woman his answer; however, it had been so long since he had tried to speak that the words failed to come out- only a strangled gasping sound passed from his lips.

So instead, he spat at her, defiance burning in his hazel eyes. The woman dropped him abruptly, but Sidney refused to cry out, even as his leg began to throb with pain.

"...f... fuck that," he hissed slowly, his voice cracking as the words began to take shape. "You call... what I believe in... a sin... ...the real sin... is believing... in your lies."

The woman scowled, wiping the blood-stained spit off her cheek.

"I always knew you were a stubborn man," she growled, "but I never realized you were so stupid as well. Well, go ahead and die- there's no one left in this world that loves you, so what does it matter?"

She stormed out of the room, leaving the door partially open.

Light fell onto Sidney's pale, bloodstained face.

His hazel eyes slid shut once again.

--------

Greg's eyes slowly opened- he was surrounded by darkness, but it was not so black that he couldn't see Derek sitting against the wall, all the way at the other end of the room.

He groaned, slowly sitting up.

"Dr. Kasal...?"

Derek's voice was weak.

"Not anymore... I'm just Greg, now... so spare the formalities..."

Greg slowly staggered to his feet, stumbling over towards Derek; he collapsed against the wall, sliding to the floor.

"What have they done to you, Derek...?"

"Nothing... yet, anyways. I've just been locked here. ...what about you, Doct-- ...Greg?"

Greg stared across the room to the opposite wall, biting his lower lip softly.

"...they got Sidney," he finally spoke, his voice low. "From what I heard, Victor and Leslie are safe... but they got Sidney. ...they're torturing him to make me give in to their dogma."

"That-- that's horrible..."

"Yeah...you could hardly call that a fair bargaining tactic. ...sorry for getting you caught up in this, Derek. This wasn't supposed to happen... I wouldn't be surprised at all if you hated me right now, for getting you stuck in this predicament."

Derek thought briefly about his current situation.

"...you didn't force me into this, Greg," he muttered. "I came willingly. You told me about it, yes; you didn't make me choose it."

A tired smile slowly spread across Greg's face.

"By the way... do you know what happened to Angie...?"

It vanished.

Greg hesitated, unwilling to speak.

"...no, I don't. ...we'll find out soon enough, I suppose."

--------

"Now, sweetie, remember... no gawking, alright?"

"But they're Sinners, Mommy! They're different from us!"

The young girl clung tightly to her mother's hand as they walked towards the grey stone building.

The mother averted her gaze from the gallows as they passed them.

"That may be..." she spoke, her voice soft and hesitant, "but they're still human. They _do_ have feelings..."

"Fiiiine..."

Mother and child entered the building together.

--------

"Get up."

Sidney looked up, the light from the open door blocked by the man standing over him.

"Get up, Sinner."

"No." Sidney's hazel eyes flashed defiantly.

A strong hand gripped his narrow neck, lifting him to his feet. Sidney gasped for breath, blood quickly spilling over his lips, but he refused to cry out in pain, refused to flail about in agony- refused to admit defeat.

"Come on," the man growled, pushing the younger Kasal twin out the door. Pain coursed through Sidney's body every time his left foot hit the ground, but he set his expression into stone, refusing to let his suffering show.

--------

"Tyler, your friends are at the door."

Confusion flashed across Tyler Chase's face. Why would anybody visit him...?

Maybe it was Derek; he hadn't heard from the brunette in a while... Tyler left his room to answer the front door--

"Come on, Tyler."

A hand shot out and seized the blonde's arm; Tyler cried out in alarm as he was suddenly jerked out of the house.

The door was shut behind him.

"Get in the car, Tyler," Victor growled, his thin fingers wrapped tightly around Tyler's upper arm.

"W-wait, Victor--!? What's going on?!" Tyler exclaimed, trying to pull himself free.

"Get in and we'll tell you." The dark-haired man flung the blonde into the side of the car.

Tyler hesitantly got into the back seat as Victor hopped into the front passenger's seat.

Leslie pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road.

"What's going on?" Tyler demanded as he buckled himself in.

"Tyler, did Derek ever talk to you about feeling guilty about making people sick?" Victor began.

"...what's it to you?" Tyler retorted, knowing that it was dangerous, admitting that you didn't wholeheartedly support the system...

"Yes or no, Tyler! Did he talk to you?! Yes or no!"

"Okay, okay, yes! He mentioned it, and I said that I was tired of infecting people- what does it matter?!"

"Then it looks like we got to you in time," Victor sighed, running a hand through his stringy black hair. "We need to talk. Something's... happened."

"What, what's happened...!?"

--------

Light shone onto Derek's gaunt face.

Had they finished torturing Greg already...?

His brown eyes opened slowly to see a small girl standing over him, her hazel eyes sparkling with life. Behind her stood the mother, whose green eyes shone- not with life, like her daughter's; but neither did they flicker with scorn.

Instead, shame and sorrow burned in her emerald eyes.

"Hello, Sinner!" the girl chirped happily. "What's your name?"

"...De... Derek," he muttered, his eyes carefully examining the young girl, watching her every movement.

"That's a neat name," she grinned. "Not as neat as mine, though!"

"...well, what's yours?"

The girl giggled.

"You don't get to ask questions, silly!"

"Be nice, 'Lee," the mother scolded gently.

"Don't _call_ me that, Mommy!"

The girl's eyes flashed with slight anger before she calmed down again, the wide smile reforming.

"So, why'd you sin?"

"...because I don't believe what I've been told my whole life."

"Well, why not? What's not to believe?"

Derek sighed; the girl had been raised not to question the system.

"...you wouldn't understand."

The girl frowned, putting her hands on her hips. The ends of her dark brown hair brushed against her shoulders.

"You're _boring._ Let's go, Mommy."

The child rushed out of the room, dragging her mother with her.

Derek could see the mournful expression in her eyes before the door slammed shut.

--------

"No... it can't be..."

Tyler sank into his chair. His brown eyes stared at the aging floor.

"They're gone...?"

"Chief told us to get the hell out of the house about five minutes before the Police came," Victor grumbled, walking around the dusty kitchen. "We tried to warn the Chief's brother, and Derek and Angie... but by the time we got there, they'd already been taken away..."

The silence was broken only by Leslie's quiet sobs.

--------

The weight of lead was nothing compared to how Sidney's legs felt at that time.

Nevertheless, he kept walking- but not by choice. No, had he a chance, he would have collapsed right there, never rising- his body could take no more. Sidney only wanted to rest.

But the hand around his neck forced him forward.

"Move, Sinner."

Sidney stumbled along; his tired hazel eyes looked forward, taking in the sight of the hallway, yet never noticing it--

He noticed a woman and her small child walking towards him, approaching from the other end of the hall. Sidney frowned, even though he barely even had the strength to keep his eyes open; had they only come to gawk at the misfortunes of his friends, his only family--?

He suddenly froze when he saw the woman's face.

No, it couldn't be, it couldn't be her, she had been-- but there she stood--!

The name slipped out of Sidney's mouth before he realized what he was doing.

"V... Victoria...?!"

The woman looked up as she heard the name.

Her green eyes widened as she saw him--

"Si... Sidney...?"

This simple confirmation of Sidney's suspicion suddenly filled him with violent energy; he jerked forward, desperately trying to reach her--

"_Victoria!_"

Victoria stood, frozen with shock, her eyes still growing wider; what was he doing here--?

"Sidney...?"

Sidney struggled harder, the hand around his throat tightening its grip, his arms now pinned behind his back as he was dragged away; whatever they had done had destroyed most of her, but he could see it-- the look of recognition still shimmered in her troubled green eyes-- he could _see it_; she was still there; if only he could reach her--!

"_Victoria!!_"

His voice suddenly pulled her out of her daze--

"_Sidney!_"

She ran forward, leaving her child behind; the young girl followed her mother, confused-- what was going on, how did Mommy know this Sinner--?

"Mommy--"

"_SIDNEY!_"

Sidney struggled violently, trying to reach his wife-- she had almost reached him, he could almost feel her warmth--

Sidney cried out as he was thrown roughly into a dark room; he looked up to see the man now restraining Victoria, who fought to be by her one true love's side--

"Victoria--!!"

"No- let me _go_- _Sidney!!_"

The door slammed shut...

Victoria's desperate scream still rang in Sidney's ears.

--------

(End chapter twelve.

This chapter pretty much speaks for itself... please review.)


	13. The Paradox

(Simple statement with profound meaning time:

I love this chapter. I'm not even kidding.

After this chapter, I'm going to write a oneshot for TCGeek(which will be oozing with happiness compared to where this story's going) and then come back to this...

The addition of the Paradox also added a chapter to this story. Hooray for the Paradox; and at the same time, boo! The paradox is not your friend!

Named characters(excluding Victoria) © Nintendo

Victoria, child, stepfather © Me)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Thirteen- The Paradox

--------

His footsteps were slow and quiet as he walked swiftly through the halls. His grey eyes were both dull and lively, his skin clammy and warm, his long hair limp and flowing.

As he passed several guards, they stopped and bowed to him; the man nodded without moving his head, allowing them to rise once again. The man would not stop for idle talking...

Not when there were Sinners in need of repentance.

--------

No amount of yelling, threatening or hitting would force Victoria to say anything other than his name.

"_Who is he?! Tell me!!_"

"...Sidney..."

In his rage, he smacked Victoria, yet elicited no cry from her as he stormed out of the bedroom in anger.

The stepfather was replaced by the daughter, who snuck in quickly, running over to her mother. Her sudden hug snapped Victoria out of her daze; she slowly began stroking the young girl's short, dark hair.

"...hello, sweetie..."

"...Mommy... who was that Sinner... the one that knew your name? The one we saw yesterday?"

The daughter spoke quietly, her face pressed against her mother's stomach.

Victoria paused.

"...a long time ago, I... I loved that man," she spoke softly, her voice oddly calm. "...we were happy... but they... they tore us apart. ...it's been so long... I thought that I would never see him again..."

_"Victoria... I promise... nothing will happen. Nothing bad... not if I can do something about it..."_

Tears threatened to fall from her green eyes.

"...he wasn't able to keep his promise. ...but... I never blamed him," she slowly continued, her child listening attentively. "I could never blame him..."

"But, Mommy, he left you..."

"You don't understand; he never would have, if he could have done something about it..."

Victoria paused briefly.

"And, also... there's something else..."

The young girl looked up at her mother, confusedly...

--------

Sidney moaned quietly, curling up on the floor.

The room was cold, and his thin shirt was soaked with blood; the damp shirt against his skin sucked out his body heat. His already naturally pale skin was now pasty white, save for the blood stains on his face, his arms, all over his body; Sidney wasn't sure what he would die of first, blood loss or hypothermia.

But the only real question was when. There was no doubt in Sidney's mind that it would happen; he only wanted to know when so that he could be free of his agony.

The door opened... and warmth slowly flooded in.

Sidney's tired eyes looked up at his visitor.

The paradox was there, a man both dead and alive, here and there, subtle and obvious. He approached the fallen Kasal twin, exuding warmth... and spreading the cold feel of death.

He kneeled down by Sidney's side, his long silver hair falling around his face, hanging to the floor.

Sidney knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt... he was in the presence of the Last Man-- and the First Being.

_Adam._

"You have seen your wife," Adam spoke without speaking. "You wish to be with her once again... and with your daughter, who you also saw that day."

Sidney remained silent, comforted by the warmth and chilled by Adam's cold demeanor.

"I know of the transgressions you have committed against me," the paradox continued. "But I am forgiving. Admit your sins... I will give you your life back. I will release you, your brother, and the young one you forced to sin... your body shall be restored. And you shall be happy... all I ask of you is that you open your eyes, and see the truth."

Sidney kept his hazel eyes focused on the young elder, looking up into the grey eyes, reflecting nothing but sincerity, filled with deceit...

Adam placed a hand just above Sidney's temple.

Relief flooded through Sidney's body; he let out a quiet sigh. For the first time in so long, he felt... peace...

"I can grant you this bliss," Adam's tired voice continued energetically. "This is what you truly want, is it not? Not change... but peace within yourself. I can grant you this..."

_Peace..._ The thought drifted hazily through Sidney's mind._ Peace..._

_"There can be no peace, Sidney. Not with the system the way it is."_

Greg's voice suddenly entered Sidney's thoughts, cutting through the fog.

_But here it is,_ Sidney silently argued with the voice of his twin brother. _It's right here..._

_"How can there be peace when so many people are suffering, when so many people are miserable? Look at what they've done; and look at what they've taken from us! This is a far cry from peace..."_

Sidney cringed slightly under Adam's hand; his head began to throb as he tried to fight with the voice in his head, the voice that pestered him, telling him not to accept the peace...

_It's right here, I can feel it, how can it not be here if I can feel it...?_

_"Sidney, you're closing your eyes-- open them! Open them, look at Adam- and tell me what you see!"_

Sidney's hazel eyes slowly looked up at Adam's face.

The grey eyes looked down at him, benevolent, forgiving. Adam's face was calm, reflecting his innate sagacity and his overwhelming kindness... his body radiated a comforting warmth...

Sidney opened his mouth slowly...

"..._no._"

The answer surprised even him; the peace began to leave Sidney's body...

He suddenly noticed a flicker of anger in Adam's eyes.

"You said no...?"

Sidney's thoughts became more concrete. He saw sternness in Adam's eyes, anger in his frail frame; the warmth began to ebb away, replaced by the cold that only a corpse could exude.

Sidney's eyes were opening.

"...that's not what I want..."

Pain suddenly coursed through his body; Sidney cried out, cringing, trying to pull away from the hand on his head...

"You are losing grace, Sidney... repent, before you lose favor..."

Sidney could hear bitterness in the voice.

He understood now.

"No. No!"

The pain escalated; Sidney gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to scream...

"I won't repent--"

"Why will you condemn yourself?!"

He could only hear contempt in the paradox's voice, the only thing he could comprehend through his agony was the hatred--

"I won't repent-- _not when I've done nothing wrong!!_"

Sidney suddenly felt nothing. No pain, no peace- only emptiness.

Adam stood. Sidney's hazel eyes followed him.

No longer did he see many things, all contradicting yet harmonizing. And yet, neither did he see kindness, warmth, in the man's image.

All Sidney saw was the embodiment of everything in the world that was dark, that was evil.

All Sidney saw was a Human Sin.

"You are lost," Adam spoke, contemptuous. "All you can be promised now is a quick death."

He left.

Sidney murmured a small prayer...

Thanking his brother for being the voice of reason...

Even when he wasn't there.

--------

Derek was starving.

He considered himself fortunate.

One small plate of food a day for two people could hardly be called a substantial meal; Greg usually insisted that Derek eat most, if not all of it. Derek would protest; "But you're going through more than I am, you need to keep up your strength!"

His arguments would usually be ignored; "Don't worry about me. Eat. I'll take what's left."

This time, Derek had finally succeeded in pressuring Greg into eating more than the stale scraps of bread that were always left over; Greg was slowly chewing on his sandwich, his hazel eyes not focusing on anything in particular.

"What're you thinking about, Greg?" Derek's voice asked quietly.

Greg swallowed his food.

"...nothing important," he finally spoke. "It's just... I've got this feeling... not sure if it's a good one, but I feel-- I feel like everything's... going to be okay. They probably won't... but I think I'll hold onto this feeling for a while."

Derek smiled briefly as he gnawed on his stale bread.

"Yeah..."

--------

There were times when the girl was thankful that she lived so close to the building.

She wandered through the halls, searching for the room that the Sinner was in. She couldn't wait for her mother to take her again; she had to find out now, herself, who he was. She had to know.

The young girl ran into the Last Man.

"Oh...! Hi, Adam!"

The frail man smiled down, softly placing his strong hands on top of the young girl's head.

"Good evening, child. Where is your mother this day?"

"Oh, she's at home... I just came to see one of the new Sinners, that's all."

The girl quickly darted away from Adam.

Normally, she wouldn't have minded speaking with him; today, however, she was on a mission.

Never mind that an unsettling feeling had crept into her stomach, and would not leave until Adam was out of sight.

She found the room she was looking for.

The young girl opened the door, quietly slipping in.

--------

(End chapter thirteen.

Not much to say. Please review!)


	14. The Calm

(This is nuts.

After I'm done with this story, I'm taking a break from drama to write happy things. "Perfect Death" seems like a children's lullaby compared to where this is going.

And yet... Earlier today, I had the most horrifying of ideas...

Okay, it's not really that bad... but it's...

... _A SEQUEL._

We'll talk more about that when the time comes.

Greg, Sidney, Derek, Adam © Nintendo

Victoria, child © Me)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Fourteen- The Calm

--------

Sidney's mind was void of thought...

He was too tired to think.

The door to his room opened slightly. he heard hesitant footsteps approaching him, stopping close to his body, which was slumped up against the wall. Sidney kept his eyes shut... after the mind games Adam had tried to play with him, he was hardly in the mood for visitors.

He grimaced as the beam of a flashlight suddenly focused on his face.

"Agh...!"

The girl moved the light away from Sidney's face... she had only done that to wake him up, if he had been sleeping.

"Who are you? And how do you know my mommy?"

Sidney vaguely recognized the voice as that of the young child's. He forced himself to open his eyes.

She was wearing an off-white dress that reached to her knees; it made her normally pale skin seem to glow with a vibrant energy. Her piercing hazel eyes looked down at Sidney, her dark brown hair falling around her face.

"Who are you?" she demanded once again. Sidney let out a quiet sigh.

"My name... is Sidney Kasal," he began softly. "I met your mother almost seventeen years ago, and married her almost thirteen years ago. About nine years ago, the Police came and arrested her... and I hadn't seen her since. Until the other day..."

"You're lying!" the girl proclaimed. "My mommy was never here- she was never a Sinner!"

"...I know she wasn't a sinner. She could do no wrong; but they falsely accused her of trying to rise up against the system... and they took her away."

The girl froze. The one person she had always looked up to had been married to a Sinner... and had fallen from grace herself?

"How old are you, child...?"

She snapped out of her daze and frowned at Sidney, her hands moving to her hips.

"I have a _name,_" she snapped.

"A name that you haven't told me yet..."

"Because you didn't ask, Mr. Sidney."

Sidney smiled grimly. So he finally got his name back...?

"You'll tell me... when you're ready."

Oooh, this man could be so _frustrating!_ How on earth could her mother ever have loved him?!

The young girl sighed exasperatedly.

"I turned eight about two months ago," she finally informed. "There. I answered your silly question."

Sidney's heart sank.

Adam hadn't been lying...

"Now, I have another question. My mommy said something about you," the girl continued. "Tell me if it's the truth."

Sidney's eyes focused on the young girl.

--------

Derek was squirming fitfully in his sleep. Grim images and dark thoughts pervaded his dreams, taunting him, proving that he could never find peace in this building, even in his rest.

In his state of unconsciousness, he felt a soothing hand being placed upon his forehead.

The disturbing images disintegrated; Derek sighed softly, growing still, settling into a tranquil sleep.

Greg stroked Derek's scraggly brown hair comfortingly, watching him sleep quietly.

He figured that if _he_ couldn't have peace... at least Derek should have a chance at feeling calm.

A peculiar sense of serenity filled the room as Greg continued to comfort the sleeping brunette.

--------

The young girl was crying softly, her mind racing.

Had everything she had been told since birth been a lie...?

"Hey, hey... shh... don't cry..."

Sidney's thin hand reached up and gently stroked the girl's face. She pressed her face against the cool hand; it felt so calming...

The hand slowly pulled away from her. The girl looked at Sidney to see him slowly fumbling with something around his neck.

"What are you doing...?" she asked softly.

"...take these..."

Sidney pressed something small into the young girl's hands. She looked at it, curious as to what the thing was.

In truth, there were two objects; one small, golden cross on a simple chain, stained with blood.

And there was a locket; one that had obviously not been opened in a very long time.

"They're yours, now..." Sidney murmured softly, his hand falling away from hers. "Take them... and go. Go..."

She paused... before wrapping her arms tightly around Sidney.

He was cold, and his blood soaked into her white dress, staining her pale skin; but at the same time, she had never felt so safe, so warm... so loved, as in that moment when Sidney slowly returned her hug.

She whispered a name quietly into Sidney's ear before she pulled away, standing up straight, holding the cross and locket close to her heart.

A faint smile played at Sidney's lips.

"That's a beautiful name... take care of it. And... take care of yourself..."

The girl ran slowly to the door.

"I will..."

She turned to face Sidney one final time.

"...goodbye, Daddy."

She exited the room, the two small pendants still clutched tightly in her fist.

--------

Leslie and Tyler were waiting anxiously for Victor to return to the small, abandoned house they had made their temporary refuge. Now that nearly everyone they knew was gone, they had to stick together... anytime someone left, the other two would worry incessantly.

The front door slammed open.

"_Fucking bastards!!_"

It was definitely Victor...

"What, what's happened, Victor?" Leslie rushed out to the living room to greet the dark-haired man. Tyler followed her.

Victor had begun cursing in his native tongue, all the while grasping a sheet of paper. He stormed around the living room, waving the paper about angrily, his rage rising.

"Victor, shut up and tell us what's wrong!" Tyler barked, effectively silencing his friend. Victor's black eyes still glittered with anger as he thrust the paper towards Tyler.

The blonde man read it carefully. Leslie read over his shoulder...

"_No!_"

"This can't be...!"

"Well, it is," Victor snarled. He stormed out of the living room, headed for the kitchen. "We have to go to that."

"Why, what can we do? We can't--"

"Yeah, we can't. But we can do something else."

Victor returned with a knife clutched tightly in his hand.

Leslie and Tyler stumbled away from him, suddenly nervous.

"What the hell are you going to do with that knife, Victor?!"

"Just shut up and listen to me, damnit. I'm not going to kill you with this!"

Tyler and Leslie cautiously listened to Victor's words.

--------

(Rather abrupt end to chapter fourteen.

Oh my God. You have no idea how much I LOVE the Derek and Greg scene. It's just... it makes me feel happy inside.

Odd, considering how depressing this is getting.

Please review!)


	15. Falling

(This is definitely not a happy-go-lucky chapter.

Now, with that said, this is also NOT the LAST chapter; thus, do not review as if it were.

But if you want to start with some bit of comedic relief, we find out what Victor did with that knife of his.

Greg, Derek, Sidney, Victor, Tyler, Leslie © Nintendo

Child, Victoria, other Sinners © Me)

--------

Days of Damnation

Chapter Fifteen- Falling

--------

_Greg could barely even keep his eyes open, even as he watched them physically destroy his brother. Oh, it tortured him; it depressed him, angered him, made him feel so helpless. There was nothing more he wanted to do at that time than to rush to Sidney's side, to try and protect him, to keep him safe..._

_But the chair bound him in place._

_They were carrying knives this time; Greg had wondered briefly why they would be carrying weapons when they were never needed before... The thought had quietly sunk into the back of his mind._

_Blood poured freely from Sidney's mouth; his thin frame shook violently every time he took a breath. Indeed, the only reason he hadn't completely fallen to the ground was that the man's hand had grasped his hair, forcing him to stay on his knees, forcing the younger twin to look up. Sidney could clearly see Greg slumped in the chair, watching his younger brother with a dazed, foggy look in his hazel eyes._

_"I have to say, this is one of the most interesting things I've ever seen..."_

_The woman jerked Greg's head back, her fingers tangling in his knotted hair._

_"We haven't so much as laid a harmful finger on you... but mentally, you're practically in the same condition as he is. It's almost as if we're torturing you both in the same way. Why is that, I wonder...?"_

_"What can I say..." Greg muttered, almost incoherently. "Sidney and I... are copycats. ...s'what we get for being twins..."_

_A small smile formed on Sidney's bloody face._

_"If that's the case, then I guess this is a pointless question... but, I'll give you one last chance to save yourself. Will you come to--"_

_"No."_

_Greg's face, though clearly fatigued, reflected his refusal to give in._

_"You will never get me to change my mind. I already am at my senses."_

_The woman sighed._

_"Very well... you'll want to look at your precious brother... see him, for the last time."_

_Greg watched in confusion--_

_The knife's blade flashed briefly, soon followed by a spurt of blood from Sidney's throat--_

_Sidney fell to the ground._

_"__**SIDNEY!!**__"_

--------_  
_

The image of his brother's murder still haunted Greg's mind, even now...

Even has he, Derek and two others were mocked and jeered at, after being brought out into public for the final time.

A piece of paper, carried over by the wind, flew straight into Derek's face. Puzzled, he slowly pulled it off of his face, reading the sheet carefully.

_This world is made more pure by the deaths of Sinners Sidney Kasal, Jasmine Raye, Angela Thompson and Jeffrey Umbridge. Those who wish to witness the cleansing of this world are welcome to see the hanging of Erika Bethard, Gregory Kasal, Derek Stiles and Hans Zajac on the 13__th__ day of..._

Derek sighed, crumpling the paper and throwing it over his shoulder.

"I guess this is it..." he spoke softly, his brown eyes looking outward, noticing the large crowd that had gathered around the gallows, most of the people eagerly awaiting the death of those who had spread health in their diseased world.

"...it's funny, how death can change a person..."

Derek turned to face Greg. The elder brunette still had a distant look in his troubled hazel eyes... but he was coming back; back to reality.

"...when Sidney died, a part of me died as well, in a way," he continued, his voice quiet. "I knew... he wasn't coming back. The only family I had left... was dead. Gone.

"But, they've given me too much time to think about this... he's not _really_ dead. His life is over, yes; but right now, he's alive in my memories. And after I'm gone, he'll live on in the memories of the people who met him. And we'll be alive, in that same sense."

"...they haven't found Victor or Leslie," Derek suddenly remembered. "They're out there somewhere. ...I wonder where they are..."

--------

The young girl had gone to see the hanging.

Not to admonish the Sinners, as she had in the past; but instead, to find the people she was going to be staying with from now on.

She had shown her mother one of the flyers; Victoria had locked herself in her room for over an hour-- her anguished cries could be heard throughout the house.

But eventually, the woman had left her room, simply handing her daughter a letter and putting Sidney's cross and locket around the young girl's neck.

_"Go. You'll find your new guardians in that crowd... there can be no home for you here, after today. ...I'm so sorry..."_

So she had left, the letter clutched in her fist, the cross and locket tucked under her shirt. She weaved through the crowd, straining to listen for someone to say the magic words...

"Can't believe he was one of them, after all he's done for our family..."

"They've even got women on their side?! What is this world coming to..."

"...how could this have happened to Dr. Kasal...?"

_Bingo._

The girl darted to the left, following the nervous voice of a female; she bumped into a woman of medium height with short, spiky green hair; it looked almost as if it had been hacked off with a knife. On her right stood a brunette with shoulder length hair- but the girl could see that the roots were blonde; to the woman's left, a gaunt man with stringy black hair, his face obscured by the hood of his sweater.

The child tugged on the woman's arm. The woman turned, looking down at the young girl.

"Can I help you...?" she asked nervously.

"...I heard you say his name; did you know my daddy?" the girl asked bravely, putting her faith in her gut feeling. "His name was Sidney Kasal..."

Almost instantaneously, the two men whipped their heads around, staring in shock at the girl; they didn't see the Sinners being brought onto the gallows, didn't hear their crimes being read to them...

"_You're_ his _child?_" Victor hissed, trying not to draw attention. "But he told us that his wife was--"

"Yeah, Mommy was arrested... he told me that he thought she was dead, and that he was actually my real daddy," the girl retorted quietly. She slowly held the letter up towards Leslie. "And... Mommy told me to find the people who were talking about him in a not-bad way... and to give you this."

Leslie carefully took the letter, opening the paper and reading it slowly.

"...oh God..."

A hand came to her lips as the the green-haired woman slowly pulled the child close to her.

"Whoa, Les, what are you doing--" Tyler began, his brown eyes reflecting his confusion.

"Read this...!"

--------

They had refused to repent for their sins.

Derek felt the rope around his neck, the wooden floor beneath his feet... he was still alive... for now.

Derek heard words being shouted at him, but he understood nothing... he was searching the crowd, looking amongst the jeering faces, for someone, anyone, who had a look of true sadness on their face, for someone who was actually mourning the inevitable deaths of the Sinners on the platform...

His tired brown eyes caught sight of Leslie and Victor in the crowd; he quickly recognized Tyler as well, after being momentarily thrown off by the dyed brown hair. Next to Leslie stood the young girl who had visited him that one day; what was she doing with them...?

Victor, Leslie and Tyler looked up at Derek; there was intense sadness as the four friends all gazed at one another for a final time...

The last thought to run through Derek's mind before the floor disappeared from underneath him was if there was a god that would have mercy on his soul.

--------

(End chapter fifteen.

There's really nothing to say here... one more chapter. Please review.)


	16. Farewells

(And so, here it is; the final chapter of "Days of Damnation".

So, who's excited?

I know I'd be a lot happier if this computer wasn't so... so freakishly unpredictable. It's head trauma waiting to happen, I swear.

Also, please ignore the odd naming here of various things... two AM is not conducive to writing.

Anyways, I've kept you all waiting long enough... here it is; chapter sixteen. Enjoy!

Tyler, Victor, Leslie, Derek, Greg, Sidney © Nintendo

Child © Me)

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Days of Damnation

Chapter Sixteen- Farewells

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They always left the bodies on display after a hanging. They served as a reminder to the people; a perfect example of what would happen to those who chose to foolishly rise against the system, what would happen to those who chose to sin.

At noon, there were four bodies.

By dusk, two of them were missing- only the frayed rope of the nooses remained.

--------

Sinners who had died before they could be converted or forced to acknowledge their sins were disposed of in empty fields, left out in the open, exposed to the harsh elements, left to rot away.

They would never be granted a proper burial... peace after death only awaited the pure of mind, was only granted to those who had not sinned.

The Asystole Field had finally been tainted with the body of the five thousandth Sinner that day.

But by nightfall, the body count fell just short of that number.

--------

"Damnit, Tyler, we'll never get done if you don't lift!"

"Victor, not all of us have stomachs of steel like you do... oh, _God--_"

Tyler dropped what he was holding, turning away as he began to vomit. Victor sighed exasperatedly, waiting impatiently for Tyler to recover.

"Holy shit, Tyler... you act like you've never seen a dead body before."

Tyler shakily wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, his brown eyes looking fearfully at Victor.

He refused to look down at the body of what had been his best friend...

The body of Derek Stiles.

"Seeing a dead body and _carrying_ your best friend to his _grave_ are two completely different things, Victor-- I'm not even going to ask where you found Sidney's body... and how can you not care about all this?! Derek was your friend, too; how can you not be affected?"

"Tyler, just shut the fuck up and pick him up already... before I get Leslie to help me instead."

Tyler reluctantly picked up Derek's legs, helping the Romanian man carry the corpse to one of the three shallow graves that had been dug the night before.

"Still, how can you be so unfazed by all this, Victor?" the blonde-gone-brunette muttered quietly.

"Who says I'm not fazed?" Victor replied, his black eyes only reflecting his frustration. "Pretty much the only thing running through my mind right now is how fucked up all this is. But as for the dead body thing? ...my dad was a priest, both here and in Romania. I'd have to go with him when he blessed dead bodies, before they were made to look all nice... they were disgusting. Those bodies had been rotting for days... these are nothing, compared to what I saw as a kid."

Tyler shuddered. He could hardly begin to imagine.

"...there_is_ something wrong with this world..." he spoke softly. "...there's no better proof of that than this; why are we burying our friends in secret? It shouldn't be like this..."

"Yeah, I know. But it has to be done. They deserve something, at least... for all the shit they went through, they deserve a somewhat-proper burial."

--------

Leslie was staring out the window, watching Victor and Leslie bury the bodies, and trying to keep the child from witnessing the scene.

"What are they doing, Miss Leslie?" the girl asked, trying to see through the window that the green-haired woman was blocking. Leslie's amber eyes slowly began to fill with tears that she refused to shed.

"...they're burying our friends," she spoke softly. "Because they deserve a better funeral... than the one they would have gotten..."

"...are they burying my daddy, too?"

Leslie froze for a brief moment.

"...yes. ...they are."

The young girl suddenly grew silent.

--------

"Victor, you say something."

"You're out of your goddamned mind, Tyler. What the hell would I say? I'm not a priest."

Tyler, Victor, Leslie and the young girl had gathered around the shallow graves, huddled together for warmth, their breaths forming small clouds in the surprisingly chilly night air.

"Yeah, but you said your dad was one; that's got to count for something, doesn't it?"

"I guess, but I only know the prayers and shit in Romanian. Dad refused to teach me the English way to say it..."

"Well, then say it in Romanian; but just say it already..." Leslie spoke quietly, her amber eyes cast downward. "It won't feel right if nothing is said..."

Victor sighed, slowly lowering his head.

"_Domnul este Păstorul meu: nu voi duce lipsă de nimic. El mă paşte în păşuni verzi..._"

Victor's voice, normally scornful and languid, was now deep, strong... the words that had gone for so long unspoken flowed easily off his tongue, resonating in the air.

The girl nervously fingered the cross around her neck, still looking up as the other three bowed their heads silently; her father's greatest material possession was cold and smooth against her small fingers.

_Daddy... where are you now?_

"_...mi înviorează sufletul, şi mă povăţuieşte pe cărări drepte, din pricina Numelui Său._"

_I've always heard that Sinners go to hell for what they do, for being bad people..._

"_Chiar dacă ar fi să umblu prin valea umbrei morţii..._"

_But... you didn't seem like a Sinner. You were nice..._

"_...Toiagul şi nuiaua Ta mă mângîie. Tu îmi întinzi masa în faţa potrivnicilor mei..._"

_...so, are you on your way to Heaven? ...or are you already there?_

"_...şi paharul meu este plin de dă peste el._"

_I miss you, Daddy... I barely knew you, but I miss you..._

"_Da, fericirea şi îndurarea mă vor însoţi în toate zilele vieţii mele_..."

_Daddy..._

"_...şi voi locui în Casa Domnului până la sfârşitul zilelor mele. Amin._"

Victor's head lifted slightly.

"_Tat__ă__l nostru, carele e__ş__ti in ceruri..._"

Leslie and Tyler stirred briefly.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven..."

Only the girl remained silent, still lost in her thoughts...

"Hallowed be thy name..."

_You never said my name, Daddy..._ she suddenly realized.

"_Vie__î__mp__ă__r__ăţ__ia ta..._"

"Thy will be done..."

_...I wish you had..._

"Give us this day our daily bread..."

_...come back, Daddy. Come back..._

Tears began to flow from the girl's hazel eyes. She refused to wipe them away...

_I wasn't ready to say bye yet..._

"_...şi ne iartă nouă păcatele noastre..._"

_Come back so I can say goodbye..!_

A sudden warmth seized the child; she froze, not daring to breathe as she heard a quiet voice whisper in her ear...

_...Daddy...?_

"...but deliver us from evil."

"_Amin._"

The spell was suddenly fractured; the girl only heard the wind blowing and the three adults shifting their weight, standing upright once more.

"...C'mon. Let's get inside before we freeze our asses off."

Victor's voice had regained its drawling tone as he headed back into the small house. He was soon followed by a solemn Tyler, then Leslie, who was willing herself not to cry.

Only the child remained, still clutching the golden cross in her hand, the warmth still holding her in its comforting grasp.

Maybe if she held still long enough, it would come back...

She smiled softly as she heard the voice murmuring quietly once again.

_Thank you, Daddy..._

_You're welcome..._ the calm, airy voice of her father replied gently. _Now go... go and live..._

The girl hesitated.

_...will you say my name first?_ she asked, suddenly nervous.

Tyler looked out the window to see the girl still standing in front of the graves, her white dress standing out against the inky black skyline.

"She's still out there," he commented briefly, his face twisting into a slightly worried frown.

"Then go get her, if you're so worried about her."

The blonde-gone-brunette scowled at Victor before exiting the house, approaching the child slowly so as not to startle her...

he grew still when he saw that her eyes were closed, her lips moving, and the cross still held in her hand. Tyler let her finish her final prayers...

The girl opened her hazel eyes slowly, then turned to face Tyler as she let go of the cross.

"You ready to go in?" he asked.

"Yeah..."

She grasped Tyler's hand loosely as they walked back into the house.

The girl knew that she would be following in her father's footsteps, and she knew where that path could lead her...

But after all they've taken from her, so early in her life...

She refused to go down without a fight.

--------

(End "Days of Damnation".

Total words: over 20,000. Total time spent on this: A little over a month. Total number of ideas for this story that were thrown in the mental trash: about 27.

Total amount of time I had fun writing this: All of it.

Thank you so much for reading this.

Please review.)


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